Smile Empty Soul
by xXxrisenangelxXx
Summary: Banished. Left for dead. That's what they thought. And with the Metal-Head war started up with the KG Robots it's only a matter of time before Haven falls. And Jak is the only hope for two very different cities as the Day Star approaches.
1. Introduction

Introduction

And in one futile effort to fix everything that they created, but Precursors banished their brethren. The ones that they called family, betrayed them. Once white and glorified beings – such as the Precursors are envisioned – the brothers changed, becoming enthralled in the Dark Eco that they studied, hoping to create a new life. A better life than the elves.

"_Pride __**goeth**__ before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18_

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**Risen Angel: Um… I lied? **

**I didn't mean to, and since I know you love me, you won't stay mad at me for very long. ^.^ I mean, do you remember Never Gone? That was a train wreck in its own way. Phew. **

**So as you can see this is only the introduction and I will be updating this weekly on either Tuesday or Wednesday nights. I'm ahead by a few chapters and hopefully it will stay that way until the end. XD**

**And if your new, I highly suggest going to read Never Gone, because that will explain a lot… or maybe just make a whole bunch of new questions. And hopefully with this, I will be able to answer a lot of them. ^.^**

**So here's to hoping that this doesn't steal two or three years of my life *raises glass* No takers? Eh… whatever. I'll be seeing you all next week! Review with you opinion so far! Pwetty pwease? **


	2. Chapter One  Psycho

Chapter One – Psycho

"_And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever." Revelation 22:5_

"I don't know what to tell you sir," the man in the white jacket said. "Your Eco levels are off the chart, all past examinations of people with Eco Poisoning at least had the Eco Concentration level in the charts. Whatever happened to you is not natural and it is a pure miracle that you're even alive still!"

"So you're saying that I should be dead?" Jak asked, the fatigue was still haunting him and he could barely pay any attention to a person talking right at him.

"With the Eco Concentration you have, you should be dead. But past research has said that Mar was in a similar predicament. Only he got Eco Poisoning from Dark Eco Bombs, not from what happened to you."

"So is it fixable?"

"I'll have to check your files. Whatever caused the Poisoning will give me a clue. But don't hold me accountable," the man said and sighed. "I have nothing else to say, so you're free to go."

"Thanks doc," Jak said and left the room. Just walking down a hall he could smell the Green Eco, and it amazed him how it was being used. He wondered if Light Eco could save him, but how much would he need to be able to get stable again? He knew that Gol and Maia were for sure dead, even in that robot the Dark Eco would get to them and then they would either absorb or be killed by the Eco, without a doubt.

He shook his head for concentration and left the Eco specialized hospital. Things couldn't get much worse than this. He didn't feel lucid half the time and no doubt that if he were to bump into one of the "Freedom Fighters" – as Ashelin and Torn called them – he more than likely would lash out. One thing they could have done was at least get different armor, he still confused them together.

Jak looked up at the zoomers going overhead and sighed, everything that once was the Krimzon Guard's was now simply painted blue. It did nothing to ease his mind. These guards could easily overthrow Ashelin if they wanted to. With enough leadership Ashling would be simply overpowered.

There were still riots from people who thought that no child of Praxis should even have to chance to govern, but those were put to rest easily when someone told them that there was no one else. That or someone said that Jak was the next ruler.

Jak had to laugh at that. He was no ruler. He was a fighter. That was all he would ever be too. "If I ever meet my father no doubt he'll be ashamed of me," he mumbled and scoffed, looking at a family walking along. That man looked proud at his barely walking child. "I'm nothing but a monster."

The little child looked at Jak and recognized him. "TV!" he yelled and pointed at him. The parents looked at Jak and gasped. The mother grabbed the boy and her spouse hurried them away. "I want TV!" the boy yelled and Jak sighed.

"Nothing but a monster," he whispered and walked into the Stadium, no races would be going on for a long time. He thought about getting out the JET-Board, but he more than likely would crash.

He left the Stadium and walked over to the garages, seeing Keira's tool box open. She had been here and more than likely still was. The curtain was open and she wasn't hiding in there. Jak looked up and heard soft footsteps in the apartment. "Found you," he whispered and quietly went up the stairs.

He looked around and stepped on something, he lifted his foot and found a plastic version of the Galageal, a rare flower found in temperatures to high for the winter season it comes in; also Keira's favorite flower. There was a trail leading into one of the bedrooms. He smiled and followed it.

He walked into the room and found Keira lying on the bed, the room lit by a Yellow Eco lamp. She sat up and smiled at him. The blanket fell from her chest and Jak froze. _She's not wearing anything!_ His mind went blank and suddenly some part of him clicked.

"Come into bed Jak," she said and gently pat the spot next to her. He slid his boots off and he sat down, her hands immediately went to the hem of his shirt, tugging it up. "I've been waiting for you Jak."

A low growl came from him and she completely pulled the shirt from him. She kissed the bare skin of his shoulder and laid her cheek on his back. "Do you know what I want?" she asked and Jak turned to face her, silencing her with a kiss. Her hands slowly made their way down his chest, dipping into every place and scar there.

He growled against her mouth and gently thrust against her. "I know what you want," he said and pressed a searing kiss to her mouth. She writhed under him and tugged at the belt of his pants. He felt an odd sensation as his eyes silently changed to a pitch black. Then his thoughts went blank.

"For the last time, you will go down there and close those damn doors! I won't let any straggling Metal-Heads into this city!"

Jak put a hand to his head to ease the headache formed from Ashelin's yelling. Since when did her voice have such a high pitch shrill to it? "Alight!" he yelled back and glared her. He was ready to hit. "I'm standing right here! But I can't go alone. I barely made it here without falling asleep."

"Take a whole army. I don't care. Just get those damn doors closed! Do you understand?"

"Yes! Geez!" Jak growled and walked out. A familiar weight landing on his shoulder.

"What climbed up her ass and bit her?" Daxter asked with a chuckle.

"No idea, but we have to go and shut those doors. Wanna keep me company?" Jak asked and looked to the ottsel on his shoulder.

"Sure! Bar's closed so you got me for the day!" Daxter exclaimed and chuckled. "Wonder if this has anything to do with that drink I gave her last weekend."

"What?"

"Made a drink and it gave her quite a night. 'Cording to Tess the chit can't remember anything for a good 24 hours!" Daxter laughed and shook his head. "Best night of her life 'parantly! Ol' Tattoo-face made a move on her!"

Jak shook his head and sighed. "Just keep talking. I'll stay awake."

"You better!"

The Underport was very much the same. Still in ruins but there was definitely a lack of Metal-Heads, which was nice. Jak walked p to the doors that Ashelin wanted them to close and Daxter went on yabbing. He gave the doors a shove and they slammed close.

Jak leapt back and stared at the door. "I have no idea what Sig was talking about! That door was easy to shut!"

"Maybe the big guy has lost his touch! By the way, did you find out if you can get the Eco Poisoning fixed?"

"Not yet. Going back to the hospital to see if it is later today."

"Well that's good! And then no matter what the man says, we're having a good drink! My treat!"

"Good to know Dax. Good to know."

"Well, I don't have much good news."

"What?"

"You see, Veger – man who founded the Dark Warrior Program," the doctor said and Jak growled. "Claims that you are too dangerous to be allowed to live in the city. So even if the Eco Poisoning is fixable – which it isn't unless you have a secret stash of Light Eco – you would be killed."

Jak blinked and licked his lips. "And does this Veger have a face?" Jak asked and felt a spark of Dark Eco go through him.

"In fact he's here, to give you you're sentence."

Jak shook in his seat and the man walked in. Two of the black guard walked in with him and Jak stood. The man was tall, but aged. "Good afternoon. I am Count Veger and I am here to give you your sentence."

"If you think that damned prison will be my final resting place, you've got another thing coming!" Jak yelled and felt a large current of Dark Eco course through him. He would rather face ten Metal-Head leaders than go back to that hell hole.

Count Veger chuckled and shook his bald head. "You're not going to prison."

"What?"

"You have a death sentence."

Jak felt his heart beat throb in head. He was only eighteen! He had barely begun to live. "I won't go down without a fight."

"You really are naïve. If you think I'm going to put you back into a prison that you've already broken out of, you really are stupid. You see, we own you and it won't make a damn difference if you killed a million Metal-Heads, you would still be put to death."

"I haven't done anything to this damn city besides fucking saving it!" Jak yelled and his eyes flashed black, his fangs growing.

"Doesn't make a difference. You're dangerous and that's all there is to it. Wouldn't even matter if you were a Precursor."

Jak shook his head. "Ashelin won't agree."

Veger chuckled and said, "Ashelin doesn't have much of a choice." Jak silently gulped as the two guards raised their guns. Ashelin was his only hope. "Arrest him." The guns exploded and two high electric current nets landed on Jak. He fell to the ground and spasmed as a cry of pain escaped him.

_I'm going to kill him!_

Jak woke to a sharp pang in his head. He sat up and felt the tough feel of metal on his arms. He could feel that it reached the joint at his elbows and stopped at his wrists. His shirt was gone and the only garment of clothing that was still his, were his pants. "Are you kidding?"

Jak looked around and saw that he was in one of those cells towards the bottom of the chasm, which from the stories he heard while he was in prison before, the cells were used to hold the insane and escapees. "Fuck," he cursed and carefully climbed off the bed. Moving his arms to see what kind of metal these arm cuffs were. "Basic metal," he growled and stretched his arms apart, bending the cuffs.

He gritted his teeth together as the metal started to cut into his skin. Finally after what felt like hours the metal fell from his arms. Jak dropped his arms to his sides and watched the blood flow from his arms.

"I'm going to kill them all," he whispered and sat back down on the bed. He could feel the Dark Eco heal the gashes in his arms, sparks coming off of each gash as the substance went to work healing the torn muscles, tendons, veins and finally the skin. He smirked at himself, "Oh the beautiful irony." Veger had in fact created a program that would create the perfect weapon and soldier.

Jak flexed his hand and stood up, grabbing hold of the bars on the door, receiving a small jolt. He scoffed and then heard a desperate sob. "Who's there?" he asked and the sobbing stopped.

"Voice new. Voice innocent," the female voice that had been sobbing answered. "Voice knows of true evil and darkness. Voice can save us all. Freedom isn't free."

Jak blinked. This woman was still here? She simply must be mad, no crimes put against her, unless she had a life sentence.

"Do you know how to get out?"

"Guards will come. Then evil will be done to us all."

"Great," Jak growled and he felt his eyes change, the dark area became lit up to him and he could now smell blood and death. "Just great." He looked at the look and peered at the back, seeing that it was a genetic lock. "This is fucking fantastic!"

"Bad word!" a man screamed and Jak sighed. He sat down on the bed and for the first time in a long time, he wasn't tired; he didn't feel like he was going to fall over and just sleep for days on end. He shook his head and closed his eyes. The chanting of the crazy people were mumbles and they were all mumbling some kind of incoherent thought.

Breathing deeply he concentrated on Green Eco, just simply trying to make his own thoughts sound sane. Finally his hands glowed a neon green, a tingling sensation running from his fingertips and sprinting up his arms then down his spine. He opened his eyes and released the Eco.

Standing up he heard the sound of metal against metal; a haunting noise to him, but it also meant a possible escape from this place. It would be easy to get out of the cell, but getting up would be the challenge.

"Where the hell is he?" a man yelled and there was a quiet reply. "Veger had no fucking warrant to arrest him, now for the last time, take me to him you bastard!"

Jak stood up and clasped the bars of his cell, a small jolt of electricity hit him, but he could hear the sound of an elevator. There was murmur of the prisoners, but all Jak concentrated on was finally getting out, which would allow him the access to rip Veger's head from his body and tear him to shreds. Which sounded like the best revenge since Jak found out that Veger was the one to start the DWP.

The current of the cell stopped and an elevator came down level with him. Jak smirked and saw Torn; the older elf seriously looked pissed off, at least more than normal. The guard with Torn opened the cell door and gasped when he saw the cuffs in a bloddy mess on the floor. "How did you – "

"Just let me out and I won't gut you," Jak snapped and he could have sworn he saw Torn smirk. "And just to let you know, I'm going to kill Veger until his ancestors hear him scream in the afterlife."

The guard gulped, but Torn nodded and made room for Jak on the lift. "I'd help you Jak, but it really wouldn't help us, especially with the files Veger has on you."

"That's lovely. And what's he going to do with them? Make men – who think that they're made of Precursor metal – cry like babies?"

"Your head count. You kill Veger now and we'll lose the damn case. Our war with Metal-Heads is far from over and we need you on the front line, end of story."

"And what the hell does Veger even want?"

"You dead. He has something planned and we're going to be left in the dark until after it's happened. He's good at hiding things from the public. Only a few even knew about the DWP until after you got out."

"Veger's wrong."

"About what?"

"I'm no where near dangerous. I'm fucking psycho."

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**Risen Angel: Told ya I would update on Tuesday! This isn't beta-ed... whoops. I get distracted and stuff and I'm a blond! But that isn't really an excuse... ^.^ Oh and sorry for the really brash language. Jak's not happy. ^.^**

**Anywho, this is kind of a rundown before Jak's banishment. But I'm sure you could tell that! **

**Here's to the first real chapter! *raises glass* And if none of you toast with me, Jak won't be happy and the most emotional scene of this entire story will be ruined because I'll be mad. No joke. I'm being serious here.**

**Also review if you've made it here, cause that would be really nice of you.**

**_Jak and Daxter (c) Naughty Dog  
Smile Empty Soul (c) Jade Burdick_**


	3. Chapter Two  Banishment

Chapter Two – Banishment

"_Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night." Psalm1:1-2_

"He has too much sway over the Council. Even if Jak never got those powers, Veger would find some way to get him killed," Ashelin said and looked at Torn. "With all the information Veger has, there's no way that we could say anything good without that man to turn it into something else."

"I know. Didn't help that we were being manipulated by Kor. We could have found a way to get rid of Praxis, but Kor had so much intel. It would have pointless to ignore him. And then we got Jak."

"I know. And now that the war's started up again, the KG robots up and running again, and the Palace gone, it's just a matter of time."

"A lot of thing can happen in less than a month. The Palace is just an example."

"We're going to lose Jak's case."

"He better show up. Otherwise I'll kill him myself," Torn growled and a door behind them opened. Jak walked in wearing armor Torn had never seen before. "'Bout time you showed up."

"Yeah well, Metal-Heads plus robots don't make for good car-pool," he shot back and pulled the shoulder off the armor, making a gross suction cup noise. He tossed it to the ground and Torn looked at it, seeing it was a part of a small Metal-Head.

"Those monsters are this close?"

"No. I had to hit the Stadium and you've seen what a mess that place looks like. Metal-Heads are everywhere."

"Why?"

"Keira forgot something. She said it was important."

Ashelin nodded and another door opened. A small woman popped her head out and saw that they were all there. "Please come in. The Council has made its decision," the woman said and Torn motioned for Jak to follow Ashelin.

The chamber was filled with men who were still loyal to Baron Praxis, but were more loyal to money and the highest man up than to any Mar or Praxis. "The case of Jak, the last living subject of the Dark Warrior Program, has left an impact on all of us here. Though the means of how the project was enacted were cruel and broke the spirit of a young man, the actions the followed are far worse than anything that happened before."

Jak glared and Ashelin cleared her throat. "Before you say your final decision, need we remind you of all the good things that he's done. He killed the Metal-Head leader and freed this city from tyranny."

"We have put thought into it, but the lives of millions were effected by all the 'bad' things that he has committed."

Jak crossed his arms and closed his eyes. If things went terrible, he could always kill Metal-Heads later.

There was a long pause as a man of old age stood up. He unfolded a paper and looked down at Jak. A solemn look creased his brow. "Boy, do you realize the severity of the crimes that you have been perpetrated with?" Jak gulped, but nodded his head. The old man cleared his throat. "Very well. And so it is stated by the law of Mar, "that any man who has caused complete and utter chaos in the city of Haven, shall be sentenced to death." But considering your past in the prison, being part of the DWP, and also of the deeds you have done for the _protection_ of the city as well; we do not lay upon you a perfect sentence. As where many betrayers go, you shall yourself be part of them, which is if you make it."

Jak opened his eyes and stared at the ground. He thought his eyes changed, but his vision remained the same; his skin felt like it was on fire and his thoughts all collided into a brick wall.

"Make our words clear, you are forever now banished to the Wasteland. In the time our decision was made, a transport was ordered and you, the accuser, guards and a few people may go to see you for the last time. Farewell descendant of Mar, for you shall be sent to where you belong!"

Jak shook his head and looked up, seeing evil smiles on all the faces in the chamber. He panted softly and flexed his hands together, drawing blood and engulfing his fists in a burst of Yellow Eco. A collective gasp came and Jak glared at them, his shaking stopping. "I hope this city is overtaken by Metal-Heads and the KG, because I know for certain that if you want to win this war, you're going to need my aide, and none of you old fuckers will get it!"

Jak spun on his heel and went to walk out, but five of the Black Guard surrounded him. He growled and he could feel a tense force of Dark Eco inside of him, making him coil like a deadly python. "You shall be escorted to the transport now and will be leaving shortly," the old man said and Jak turned to him, his eyes flashing black and back to their normal state. "Anyone you wish to see again?"

Jak gulped and Ashelin said, "I'll get that information and gather the people he requests."

"Very well."

She walked up to Jak and whispered, "I'll go and get Daxter and Keira." He nodded and she left.

Jak felt two pairs of arms grab his and lock them in a pair of cuffs. "Come with us sir."

Torn watched Jak walk away and felt sincere guilt for the boy. Being banished to the Wasteland was basically a death sentence, and it was one with either a quick and merciful death or a slow and taunting one. Torn only hoped that Jak would eventually find a way back into the city.

"Ashelin?" Keira asked, opening the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Is Daxter with you?"

"Yeah. Hey Dax!"

"Wha?" a responding voice from inside yelled and the small ottsel climbed onto Keira's shoulder.

"You've both been requested to come to the Wasteland to say your good byes to Jak. He has been banished to the Wasteland."

Daxter's mouth dropped as Keira exclaimed, "What?"

"We lost the case and this is his sentence," Ashelin explained and sighed. "Will you please come? It will be the last time you may possibly see him." Keira nodded and followed Ashelin. They climbed into a hellcat and Ashelin flew over the buildings heading toward the Port.

"Why?" Keira asked and Ashelin shook her head with a shrug.

"Veger is a manipulating man. He created the DWP and left Erol more or less in charge. That's how Jak knew Erol I'm assuming and because of all the destruction and death that occurred afterwards, everyone is blaming Jak for it."

Keira shook and bowed her head, her eyes throbbing from the tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe it. The charm necklace in her pants pocket suddenly felt like the heaviest item in the whole world. She barely heard Daxter throwing out curses at every man he could think of and she didn't really know what to think. Everything she knew about either Jak or what happened to him was vague, but what Jak told her was some of the clearest thing that went through her thoughts. How could someone who went through so much, save the largest city she had ever seen, and still be hated by so many? He saved all of their lives, and now they were throwing out the only person who could possibly ever save their lives.

Jak saw Ashelin lower the hellcat before he saw Keira and when he saw her, he literally thought about transforming, killing everyone and taking Keira far from Haven, away from the wars and simply live on their own; to let Haven fight their own wars. He seriously thought about it, but knew it couldn't and definitely wouldn't happen. What he saw on Keira's face made him want to drop to his knees and just cry, or to run to her and let her know that he would stay alive and he would come back to her.

She walked up to him and the Black Guard stopped her. Daxter jumped onto her shoulder and yelled, "You let us pass! We're here to say bye, and if you don't I swear to the Precursors that you'll face a furry doom!"

Jak smirked – only Daxter would say something like that – and Keira pushed her way through, reaching out for him and a guard stepped between them. "No talking until drop off."

Keira gasped and tears rolled down her cheeks as she glared at him. "You deserve to die," she snarled and Jak smirked once more.

A chuckle came from behind her and Veger chimed, "Now little lady, words like that could be considered to be treason. This guard is protecting you from a menace who could kill you without a thought."

Keira bit her lip and said, "He has done nothing besides save your ass. You're the one who should be in chains!"

"Stay quiet unless you want to go with him!"

"And you're a jerk!" Daxter yelled and Veger jumped. "If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be here! You just had to have a bio weapon! Bull shit! You did this to him!"

"You will be going with him rat and anyone else who speaks again the Court again will be as well."

Keira fumed and opened her mouth to retort. "Keira, don't!" Jak yelled and a guard elbowed him in the stomach. "You need to stay here where you'll be safe." She looked at him and he nodded.

"You will be silent as well!" Veger yelled and turned to the guards. "Load the transport. We leave in five minutes."

Keira looked at Jak and he smiled at her, being ushered into the back on the transport. "Come on Keira," Ashelin said and walked her in.

Just as the door went to shut a scream came and flying mass of red, blue and yellow fell in, crashing to the floor. "Oi! Damn it all, why wasn't I invited? Onin had to tell me and I was sleeping!"

"Oh no," Daxter groaned. "Not Pecker."

"Yes, Pecker!" The bird yelled and glared at Daxter. "I hope you know what Onin is making me – Wait… what's going on?"

"Will you just shut up?" Daxter yelled and jumped down next to the bird. "Old spotty up there has sentenced Jak to banishment in the Wasteland. One word from any of us that goes against the ruling and we'll be going with him."

"Oh," Pecker said and glared at Veger. "I woke up for this? Warning you now old man, Onin has some crazy old prophecies about you, and none are pleasant, but you will get what you deserve, you old rat!"

Veger sneered and stuck his long, pointy nose up. Daxter chuckled and jumped back into Keira's lap, she pet him and looked at Jak, catching his eye. He was just simply looking at her, his brow furrowed and she could see the blue of his eyes fading to the black and he it was spreading quickly. "Don't," she mouthed and he blinked, the black fading and his eyes righted themselves. She was very in tune with Jak's emotions and no one but the two – and maybe Daxter – knew it.

The rest of the ride was quiet. The only noise that was heard was the engine and the breathing of everyone in the large compartment. In random spurts Daxter and Pecker would argue, but one look from Veger silenced them completely.

The transport came to a stop and the doors opened. "Warning," a computerized voice said. "A sand storm will arrive in twenty minutes time."

"Which means that your death will be quick and easy boy," Veger said as the guards marched Jak out.

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**Risen Angel: Hey all!**

**And if you read my journal you would have known that there was going to be an update tonight! Sorry it's so late though, we went to Margaritaville for dinner and we didn't start eating until 9:30 almost. XD Great huh?**

**But once more, this is a general idea of what happened before Jak was banished. And of course it leads right into the most important part of the story! And the real part of it the story.**

**Um... I don't think there is anything else left to say... please ignore any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, mainly cause I'm not all too concerned with it anymore. I just kinda want to crank out the chapters, but I'm having a "hard" time because I haven't actually played Jak 3 in FOREVER! ^.^ So when I get back from Myrtle Beach, I'll be going into the awesome review of Jak 3... unless I get distracted by Modern Warfare 2... ^.^**

**Anyways, if you've made it this far, you should review! Cause I know you want to!**


	4. Chapter Three  Survival

Chapter Three – Survival

"_You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." John 4:3_

Keira watched and heard Veger read out of a book, she heard Ashelin snap at Veger and the guards removed the cuffs on Jak, stepping away from him. Ashelin walked up to Jak and slipped him something and then Daxter sprinted up and looked at Jak, Daxter's ears lay flat as if he didn't want to hear what Jak was telling him.

"You are a son of a bitch who deserves to die," Daxter yelled and turned to Veger. "You don't deserve to live!"

"One more word and you'll be staying with him," Veger snarled and Daxter met the glare full on.

"Loophole!" Pecker yelled.

"What?"

"You can't sentence anyone else once you've read it. I would know. I was there when that law was made."

Veger snarled and Keira walked up to Jak. He held her in a hug and buried his face in her neck. "Promise me you'll stay safe, stay in the New Haven district, stay near where the Council chambers are located," Jak whispered and tightened his hold.

"I promise Jak," she replied and pulled out the charm, reaching around him and putting it on his neck. "But you have to promise me that you'll never take this off."

Jak pulled away and fingered it, feeling the sea-shells from the necklace. He looked at her and whispered, "Wear it no matter what and come back."

Jak cupped her face and wiped away a shining tear that rolled down the plane of her cheek. "I promise," he whispered and kissed her gently. "Don't cry." She clenched her hands in his hair and pressed a hard kiss to him. He put a hand to her waist and brought her closer, as if he didn't want to let go.

Jak pulled away and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Keira go before the storm comes," Jak said and she backed away, keeping her head bowed.

Jak looked behind him and saw a large dust cloud. He took a deep breath and faced the transport. "You know what?" Daxter yelled and Jak smirked. "This is bullshit! I can't leave Jak and you, spotty," Daxter pointed up at Veger, "you deserve to die in some monster-ific hole of doom! Good-bye!"

Daxter leaped out of the transport and Pecker's jaw dropped. "Ditto," Pecker said and flew out.

"So be it," Veger said and he turned to the front. "Head back for Haven."

The door closed and the transport lifted and flew away. Jak turned, watching it and his jaw dropped. "Holy shit that is one big dust cloud!" Daxter yelled and climbed up to Jak's shoulder.

Jak stared at it and he blinked, searching. "Find a cave," he snapped and sprinted to a large rock formation. Daxter clinged to Jak's shoulder and looked over at Pecker, who was flying overhead.

"Jak!" the bird said and pointed at an entrance up on the rocks. Jak climbed up the rocks and looked over his shoulder, seeing that the storm was right on them. He pulled up his scarf and continued climbing.

"Dax, get in the bag," Jak yelled and finally reached the entrance. He crawled in and Pecker huddled in the back. "Better get comfortable," he mumbled and brought his knees to his chest as the sand whipped past and spun in circles.

Jak could hear Daxter's snores and the soft breathing of Pecker. He looked out the entrance and saw that the sun was going down. Soon they would have to start moving and he was sure that Daxter wouldn't enjoy being awoken, nor would the colorful bird laying by his feet.

He had never been to the desert part of the Wasteland and gathering from how long the transport ride was, it was quite a distance away than the Metal-Head nest. And for the short amount of time that they were out in the sun Jak could tell that it was no place to be, even if well pre-pared. They needed to find civilization.

"We have to get moving," Jak said and shook Pecker with his foot.

"Five more minutes," the bird mumbled and Jak sighed. He grabbed him and his pack and made his way down the side of the mountain.

"What's going on? Why are we moving?" Daxter was freaking out in the pack.

"We need to get moving. The sun is down and we need to find civilization before it comes back up. Survival Daxter. You didn't have to stay."

"Maybe not, but there's no way I could leave you behind. Who would be there to keep you awake?"

"The sun, considering how hot it is."

"Enough of your bickering," Pecker snapped. "I'll fly up and look for lights of some kind. You would die without me."

Jak rolled his eyes and watched as the bird flew up. He continued on, letting the moon light the way.

"How long before the Green Sun shows up?" Daxter asked, peeking out of the bag.

"I don't know. I haven't seen it at all since we got to this time. Maybe it died."

"Oh. I just figured that since we can actually see the stars – which is nice by the way – that we could see that sun again."

"The stars!"

"Yeah, those flashy white things we haven't seen in three years."

"Daxter you're a genius!"

"I am?"

"The stars are guides!"

"What?"

"Uncle?" Daxter blinked. "His lessons on how to travel with no map."

"Oh, you mean the lessons I was sleeping in. Now I completely remember! Not!"

"Just sit back."

"Not gonna be a problem."

"Didn't think so."

Jak looked up and bit his lip. All those lessons were so vague, but he could clearly remember his uncle's voice and the day. "The stars have changed so much in the past years," he mumbled and finally saw a constellation he remembered. That was to the east.

"How long do you think it would take to get back to Haven?" Jak asked and stared to the north.

"At this pace? Forever. Why?"

"Just thinking of going north."

"Okay then."

"Pecker, do you see anything?" Jak called out.

"The ocean is to the west and if I remember correctly a village of banished peoples is by the ocean."

"How far?"

"Who knows."

"Good enough. Maybe there is hope. Let's get going."

And with that Jak made his way west with Daxter in the pack and Pecker alternating between flying and resting on Jak's shoulder.

Back in Haven Keira was busy packing the rest of her things from Mai's. "I'm so sorry I have to leave you Mai. I don't want to, but I promised Jak."

"Young lady, I will be fine."

"But what if the KG break through? What then?"

"Keira, I don't need you to worry about me. I have lived through enough wars to know how to survive. I will be fine."

Keira was unconvinced. The KG had been attacking more and more each day and it was just a matter of time before the Freedom League lost their defensive position.

She went into the back of the house and into her room. She had yet to pack all of Jak's things and that was because she wasn't sure if she should. If what Ashelin said was true, Veger was figuring out how to override the security gates, which that wouldn't really be a surprise. Keira didn't even know the man and she could tell that he was in this for the power and he would do whatever it took to get it.

"Keira, if Jak comes back, and what Ashelin said is true about the security gates, Jak won't be able to get into the New Haven district. Leave his things here," Mai said and put a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "He'll come back."

"It's not fair Mai. He didn't do anything to any of them."

"But people are scared of him."

"Because he changes? What makes him so different? He wouldn't even be in the desert if it weren't for Veger. I honestly want him to go through that torture."

"Not even Jak would wish that upon him."

"How do you know? Jak was a boy when that happened. He's only eighteen!"

"I know."

"I want my hero back."

"You're not the only one."

Keira bowed her head and hugged her arms around her stomach. At least they had shared one night together.

Ashelin paced the length of the Freedom League Head Quarters. She kept glancing at the map of the Wasteland and seeing the blinking light travel at a snail's pace.

She stopped and leaned over the map. The large mass she was staring at was right next to the ocean. Ashelin glanced at the light again, it was heading toward that same large body of water.

"Come on Jak, activate it," she whispered and stared fervently at it.

The door opened and Torn walked in. "Ash?"

She looked up at him and looked back at the light.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure Jak stays alive."

"What are you talking about?" he asked and walked over to the map, seeing the blinking light, "What did you do?"

"What Veger doesn't know isn't going to hurt him."

"But what if he does find out?"

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

Ashelin looked at him and gave him a hard look. "We need him alive. I am willing to do anything to make sure he comes back. And Veger won't be able to do a single thing if Jak makes his way back here."

Torn glared back at her. "This isn't going to save him." He pointed at the map. "You staring at a blinking dot isn't going to help us. And whether you want to or not, you need to lead us. It is your responsibility."

"It was my responsibility to keep Jak safe!"

"He can take care of himself. What is he to you anyways? Some plaything? Something that's useful for now? And what happens when we're done fighting wars? Or when Jak is too injured to fight? What then?"

Ashelin just stared at him.

"Ashelin," he grabbed her shoulders and stared back at her, "you need to realize that we can make it without Jak. We did it before and we can do it now. This city knows how to survive."

"What if we can't this time?"

"We can and we will."

Jak looked back at the rising sun. It felt like they had been walking for forever, but each time he looked back at the mountain they had hidden during the sand storm he could tell that they were getting further away.

"We need to find a place to stay. Fly up and see if there are any rock formations," Jak ordered and shrugged the shoulder Pecker was resting on.

"I don't wanna," the bird complained.

"I don't care. Do you want to become fried chicken?"

"Not particularly."

"Then get up there."

"Whatever you say."

He flapped his wings and went up into the air.

Jak looked down at his feet and could feel the sand sifting below him.

"Jak? When are going to stop? I'm tired and it's getting really hot."

"Soon. I'm sorry about this Daxter."

"S'not your fault. I chose this."

"You wouldn't of had to if it weren't for me."

"Eh, it's not so bad. We're getting a tan if that counts."

"More like fried."

"Tan is a tan."

Jak gave a chuckle and Pecker came back down.

"Anything?"

"There's a rock formation to the south, but I'm not sure if it's large enough to hide in. Maybe around it."

"Good enough. How far is it?"

"Not much. Come on, I'll lead."

Jak nodded and followed the bird who flew above slightly.

Pecker was right and at the pace they were going it took them about ten minutes to reach the rock formation.

"You kidding Pecker? This just needs to have a few rocks moved. We can hide in here for the entire day," Jak ran up to it and laughed. "This is perfect!"

"Glad you think it's awesome. Where's the bathroom?" Pecker asked.

"You have an entire desert, don't be picky," Daxter sneered.

"What about food?"

"We'll have to live without it until we find people," Jak answered.

"What if they're not civil?"

"We'll wait longer."

"Aww, but now I want food!" Daxter whined and climbed out of the pack.

Jak rolled his eyes, pulling out rocks to make a safe hiding place from the sun.

"Get comfy guys. It's going to be a long day."

* * *

**Risen Angel: Hey guys!**

**herpderp**

**i almost forgot! ^.^**

**um... yeah... big ol' hint at what they did that night and also the severe desperation that ashelin has... ^.^; i'm not sure if she gets any better though... i don't think i've gotten that far yet...**

**see ya next week!**


	5. Chapter Four  I Spy With My Little Eye

Chapter Four – I Spy With My Little Eye…

"_And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matthew 24:22_

Daxter groaned for the tenth time in the last hour, "I. Am. So. Booooorrrrrred!"

Jak rolled his eyes and leaned back, resting his head against the rock. He closed his eyes and propped his feet on another rock toward the entrance. "Play a game," he offered and started to let sleep seep in.

"Like what? I spy?"

"Why not?"

"Fine, you're playing too though!"

"Whatever."

"Alright, I spy with my little eye… something… yellow!"

"The sun?"

"Nope."

"Sand."

Aw, darnit."

"Choose something at least slightly hard."

"This game is stupid."

"Then sleep."

"I slept all night and the entire time we were hiding during the sandstorm. I'm all slept out!"

"I'm sleeping, so do something."

"Oh, you're no fun!"

"I'm not supposed to be."

"Oh whatever," Daxter mumbled and sat down on Jak's foot. "What do you think everyone back home is doing?"

"Probably having some kind of fiesta," Pecker complained and grumbled to himself. "I miss my perch."

"You weren't invited, so shut it!"

Jak sighed and turned his head to the side.

He remembered Haven before the worst of the construction and war started. Things were so much more simpler and it was simply a matter of finding things to do.

He also remembered the day the Palace was destroyed. He was right there, standing on the same balcony he had fought Praxis on. Samos was standing beside him, on a communicator with Torn and Ashelin who were surveying the districts from above. The war had taken to the air with Metal-Heads somehow breeding to create a stronger flying species and the Hellcat cruisers had been brought in with fresh recruits.

Ashelin was informing them of the case that Veger had formed against them. What he was doing and the people he was bribing.

And then it happened.

Dark Eco Bombs were fired at the Palace, the base had a number of explosions and finally it started to shake, the support beams breaking off. The support towers were the first to go, falling into different sectors and breaking down important security walls.

Torn and Ashelin were already on their way to get them off the Palace.

The last of the explosion split the main tower of the Palace, the tall structure now bending in the air. Torn pulled the Hellcat next to them and Jak helped Samos onto the vehicle.

Another current of explosion shook the base of the Palace and Torn had to pull away as the tower shook. Jak steeled himself and as Torn pulled as close as he could the teen launched himself off the falling structure. He grabbed the edge of the Hellcat and Ashelin pulled him up. The teen scrambled to the gunner seat and as Torn flew away he watched as the last part of Praxis fell to the ground.

Jak jumped and looked around, realizing that he had slept throughout the entire day. Daxter was curled on his stomach and Pecker was on his foot.

He reached into his pants pocket and grabbed the old device Ashelin had given him. It was made out of Precursor Metal and the orb in the middle was made out of a solid Eco. He knew it was a tracking device.

_Someone that Ashelin trusts will come. That much I know._

It would take a single press of the orb and whoever this was connected to, would come.

He closed his eyes. His thumb was poised over the orb and Jak pressed it.

The orb started to flash red.

"Now it's only a matter of time."

Pecker opened an eye and smiled.

Ashelin jolted in her chair at the sharp beeping noise.

"The tracking device!" she exclaimed and shot out of her seat, sprinting to the map.

The light she had so fervently watched was now blinking red. She silenced the beeping that startled her.

"Way to go Jak," she whispered a smile on her face as she watched the red blinking light.

"Come on guys, let's get moving," Jak said, climbing out of the rock.

"Why don't we just stay here?" Pecker offered and gave Jak a knowing look.

Jak glared at the bird. "We need to find water," he growled and Daxter scampered after him.

Pecker rolled his eyes and flew up, looking for a river. "There's a river to the south," he called down and Jak turned to that direction.

"What was that about?" Daxter asked, looking up at Jak.

"Pecker needs to mind his own business."

"Why did he want to stay there?"

"Because Ashelin slipped me a tracking device and I activated it when I woke up."

"How does he know that?"

"I don't know. How does he understand Onin?"

Daxter gazed up at the bird, then back at Jak. "I don't know."

Jak stared at the sand. "This river better be close," he growled.

"A river in the desert sounds kind of… odd, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does. But the sun isn't up to form an illusion, so Pecker can't be going crazy."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Daxter mumbled and Jak chuckled.

"We'll be out of this mess soon, Dax. I promise."

"I'll be okay as long as we get food and water. Water would be awesome right about now!"

Jak smiled and as they climbed up a dune he could have sworn he heard the trickle of water. Daxter scampered up the hill and his jaw dropped. "Water!" he yelled and rand down the hill.

Jak reached the top and his eyes glazed over. He slid down and ran to the river, kneeling down and cupping his hands to the shallow river. The water sparkled in the moonlight as Jak took the life saving liquid to his mouth.

As he swallowed he could feel it trickle down his throat and into his empty stomach, making a sloshing sound.

"That tastes so good," Jak groaned and ran his hand under his thick hair.

"You said it," Daxter said and ducked his face in the water.

Jak took his boots off and dipped his feet into the cold water, flexing his toes.

"Don't contaminate it with your stinky feet!" Daxter screamed and launched himself at Jak, taking him down.

Jak laughed. Right then and there it felt like before. Back when there was no Haven, no Gol and Maia, just them being able to be kids. He remembered how innocent they were and how the most important part of the day was seeing Daxter fall asleep during one of Samos' lessons on Green Eco. Jak missed those days.

He sat back and Daxter was now rolling in the sand, laughter escaping him.

Jak shook his head and ran his head over his neck again, lifting his hair. "I'm thinking that it might be time for a hair cut," Jak said and Daxter laughed harder. "It's not funny!"

"Sorry! It's just funny to think of you with short hair," Daxter laughed out and sat up with sigh. "Well, you're the one with the razor sharp claws, start chopping."

Jak looked at his hand, the limb morphing, along with half of his arm into his dark half. He sighed and sliced his hair off. The majority of his long locks fell off and Daxter smiled.

Jak willed his hand to change back to normal and with his free hand he felt his hair. "Well that's different," he mumbled.

"Now we just gotta find a stylist in this desert and we'll be set." Daxter joked and smiled at Jak.

"Yeah," Jak said and looked up at the sky. Was anyone even going to come for them? "Let's stay by the river. It'll hopefully lead to the ocean."

"Alright," Daxter agreed and took another gulp of water.

Jak stood up and started to go downstream. The two animals tailing close behind.

He kept looking behind them, for in that small moment where his dark half was active, Jak sensed danger. And it wasn't the normal kind. Someone – or something – was stalking them and sooner or later they were going to make themselves known.

"Whatcha looking at Jak?" Daxter asked and looked back.

"Someone's following us."

"Maybe the are friendlies?"

"No. It's too quiet to be an ally."

"Well that's fantastic! How long before the tracking device is answered?"

"I have no idea," Jak answered and looked at Pecker. "We need to hide. Are there any hiding places you can see?"

"Give me a minute."

Jak stopped and Daxter climbed up to his shoulder.

"At least back home we knew what could be after us," Daxter mumbled.

"Back home it was only guards that were after us constantly," Jak replied and looked around. Looking on the other side of the river Jak saw something. It looked like an elf… but it definitely had a different stance than one did, it was more animalistic.

"We need to get away from the river," Jak said and moved away.

"What? Why?"

"There's someone over there."

"Maybe they can help."

"They won't," Jak growled.

"How do you know?"

"Cause he was prowling like an animal. He was spying on us."

Jak motioned for Pecker to come down.

"What's going on? There's plenty of hiding spots on the other side of the river."

"Jak saw a bad guy and his survival instincts are in overdrive."

"Oh, well, we better get moving," Pecker said and moved ahead, keeping an eye out for rock formation.

Jak glared ahead. That thing hadn't gone past the river, which told him that it was a natural boundary of some kind. But that didn't mean that the spy wouldn't go across it to keep a close eye on them. Prey was prey and in these conditions Jak knew that he and his companions were in fact the prey.

"Jak the sun is coming up," Daxter said and Jak looked to the east.

"This is just great!" he yelled and continued forward. "We have to keep going."

Pecker looked at Daxter and they bother gulped. "Whatever you say boss."

It had been five hours since the sun had made its grand entrance on them. And it was in that last hour that they had fallen.

"Oh why didn't I just stay asleep?" Pecker asked aloud and landed with a thud.

"Oh why, oh why?" Daxter mocked and stuck his tongue out at him. "You didn't have to even come!"

The wind whipped around them and Jak sighed. His pace had dwindled into dragging his feet and he had tripped twice. Where were the people that were supposed to come for them?

"Jak, we need to stop," Daxter whined, trudging behind him.

Jak looked around them. There was absolutely nothing there. Just sand, sand, and more sand.

He stopped with a sigh.

Daxter fell and coughed.

Jak closed his eyes. Whoever was coming had better hurry, because they only had a few hours left.

He fell to knees and backwards.

"I'm sorry Keira," he whispered with a dry throat, pulling the device out of his pocket.

"Someone had better have a good reason as to why there isn't a rescue team," an older man yelled as he stormed into the garage.

"It's an unknown code," someone said and the man growled at him.

"It's an older tracking device. Get a vehicle ready, I'm going out there."

"Sire, no! There's a storm approaching and quickly too," a man said, giving the older man a pleading look.

"Oh come now, do you really think that some sand is going to hurt me?" he asked condescendingly. He turned to an overweight man and ordered, "Get my vehicle ready. I'm leaving now."

"As you wish King Damas."

"At least someone here knows how to listen," he said with a smug grin. "You two," he pointed to two older men. "Get ready, you're coming with me."

"Yes, sire," they replied in unison.

"Whoever is out there, help is on there," King Damas said and climbed into his vehicle. The large door to the desert opened and he sped forward, following the blinking red light on his map.

Jak heard the roaring of engines and suddenly he was back at the championship race against Erol. Their engines and the roar of the crowd deafened him.

He groaned and turned his head as the sand whipped his face.

"It's a kid, sire," a man said.

"And a rodent and bird. Pets?" another said.

"Bring them all back," a deep voice said and Jak startled at it. It was so familiar.

"Who are you?" the deep voice asked and Jak was lifted slightly, the tracking device fell out of his hand. "Who gave you this? Answer me!"

"Sire, we need to get going."

"Yes. Make sure they are all attended by the Monks."

"Yes, sire."

Jak couldn't feel the sand hitting him any more and finally surrender took over, allowing him sweet peace.

* * *

**Risen Angel: Hey guys! Um... sorry for not updating yesterday! I forgot... kind of. Not really. I realized when it was like ten and I didn't want to get out from underneath my blanket and get my computer out and put it up and do this... I'm lazy I know... but I'm also a very ya know... tired person. XD**

But here ya go! DAMAS! AND RECOGNITION IN JAK'S SUBCONSCIOUS! WOOHOO! BEST THING EVAR!

Anyways... it's review time for you guys cause ya love me! ^.^ And it will give me some motivation to write some more and get back on the original plot. ugh. it's off on it's own tangent right now and I'm having a hard time getting back on it.


	6. Chapter Five  Capito?

Chapter Five – Capito?

"_Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my Sabbaths." Leviticus 19:3_

Damas sat watching the teenager before him breathe slowly, unmoving besides the up and down movement of his chest. The boy had been like this for two days and the Monks had refused to help, which meant that the boy was on his own.

The bird had woken first, introducing himself and giving out all the information he had. At first Damas was shocked at the talking bird, but then he remember Onin and her many animal interpreters.

"What news of Haven, bird?" Damas asked and felt a pang of guilt.

"Kor – the Metal-Head leader – is dead thanks to him," Pecker answered nodding at the boy.

Damas looked at the blond. This boy had done what not even Mar could do? How? And by what means?

"But Haven is now in a war with the remaining Metal-Heads – with no leader – and the Krimzon Guard robots. It's not looking good for haven."

"Do you believe they have any hope?"

"They whould if Veger hadn't banished him."

Damas looked at the teen again. What happened to this boy to make him so dangerous?

"My lord?" a small voice asked and Damas looked over to the door. "You called for me?"

"You aren't as prejudice as the other Monks. Seem, I need you to help him."

The Monk walked up to the bed.

"Is there anything you can do lady monk?"

Her nose crinkled, an invisible smell to Damas hit her. "There is something tainted about him. It feels like Dark Eco, but I'm not sure how or why."

"When do you think he'll wake?"

Seem touched the boy's forehead. "Soon. Very soon my liege."

As she pulled her hand away the boy gasped, coughing violently, dark violet sparks escaped his mouth. He sat up and his coughing worsened.

Seem stared in shock and Damas grabbed a bowl of water, putting the lip of the cup to his mouth. "Drink boy," Damas said and spilled some of the water into the sparking mouth.

Pecker flew over and landed at the foot of the bed, looking at Jak. His eyes were violet and the sparks in his mouth seemed to be exploding more and more. The bird gulped.

"Drink!" Damas yelled and tilted Jak's head back, forcing the water down his throat.

Finally the sparking stopped.

And with it a chilling calmness surrounded them.

Jak turned his gaze to them and deep cerulean eyes bored into Damas. He hadn't seen that deep blue in such a long time. All his children had light violet eyes, but his only son had earned his mothers.

"A gift from the Precursors," his wife had said when she had seen the boy's eyes.

"My liege, this boy is dangerous. He is awake. That's all I can do, and it's all I will do. I need to go."

"Because he's "tainted" as you call it?" Damas asked accusation in his tone.

"If you must put it that way, so be it," Seem sneered and turned.

"If he is tainted, then that means he is also a channler! Do you have any idea how rare they are?"

"And also how cursed? Tools for the Precursors if you care to remember. I'm sure your wife did."

Damas was silent.

"I have other business. He is now under your care. Not mine." Seem spun away and left.

Damas looked at the boy. "You had better be worth all this trouble," he threatened and left the room.

Jak stared at the door the man had walked out of. Where was he? And most importantly, why did that man look so familiar?

Damas went to the throne room, seeing that he did have business to attend to, not just to the boy; though he figured that the boy was the subject of the day.

The clamor quieted as he walked up to the throne. And once he was seated, it started up once more, will all the questions directed back at him.

"Quiet! I will answer all the questions," Damas yelled and a Monk stepped forward. Damas nodded at him and made a note that this man was one of the head Monks.

"What of the darkness that surrounds him?"

"We will deal with that when it becomes a problem," Damas snapped. "What I do know is that he has killed the Metal-Head leader, but Count Veger of Haven City banished him. I don't know why, but when the boy is more rested I will discover the answer. The boy will also be put through the entrance tests of becoming a Wastelander. Kliever, you will be in charge of those, along with any other entries. Don't kill them this time." Damas stood now and looked over the men gathered. "Anything else?"

A man well into his 60s came forward, his hair black with gray streaks and gather into dread locks. "Any news of the prince?" he asked, his gray eyes stared at Damas.

"I haven't asked, but you will be the first to know," Damas answered and glanced at his fanther-in-law. "If there is nothing else, then you are dismissed."

Everyone left besides the older man. He walked up to Damas and put a hand on his shoulder. "Damas, your son will appear soon. You know this," he said.

"Joel, what if he comes back dead? I can't lose all of the family I have."

"He won't. Ask Seem again. She is more sympathetic than the others. She'll answer you more directly than in those riddles they give out."

"Joel, the boy has his eyes."

"There are lots of people with blue eyes," Joel replied and looked at Damas.

"No, I mean they are my son's eyes. I am not seeing things."

"Let me see the boy," Joel said and moved his hand away. "I know my daughter's eyes."

"He just woke up. Come with me," Damas replied and went back to the infirmary. Joel followed him through the hallways.

"How old do you think he is?"

"Eighteen, maybe," Damas answered and sighed. "The world today and how these kids are raised. Even here the smallest children slightly frighten me with the rebellion in their veins."

"In Haven they need to be. Especially with Praxis in power."

"Joel… I think he is dead."

"How? He never fights and no assassin can get to him."

"I'm sure this boy will know," Damas replied coldly.

Joel pursed his lips. This boy had put Damas in such a foul mood, simply because of this boy's eyes. Joel could see why Damas was slightly angry, if not furious, though the old man couldn't understand how this boy could have such an impact on his son-in-law.

Damas opened the door to the infirmary, holding it for Joel.

Joel saw a young blond teenager scarfing down food and gulping water. "Is there anymore?" he asked one of the nurses.

She stared at him. "You ate enough for two!" she exclaimed and took his plate. "Water yes, food no."

He sighed and surrendered to her. "Alright, by the way, have you seen an orange talking rat?"

She huffed angrily and walked away shaking her head.

Joel smiled and followed Damas to the boy.

"Nice to see you talking," Damas said and put a smug smile on.

The boy seemed surprised. "Uh… yeah."

"This is Joel and I am King Damas," he said, introducing them. "What is your name?"

The boy's jaw dropped as his eyes gave the obvious hint that he had recognition.

"Well, he certainly remembers who you are my lord," Joel joked and gave a hearty chuckle.

"My name is Jak," the boy choked out, avoiding their gaze.

That man is his father? How? And would he recognize him? A lot's changed since he was that small boy. And that was no understatement.

Would he asked about his son? Of Lorelie? Of Mai-Ann? Questions of what Damas could asked burned through him. And then a slow burning anger.

What if Jak did tell him of his real identity? What would this man do? Would he kill him? Would he kill his son? Even with the truth out there? This king would have to believe him. There was no other way around it.

And what of Jak's powers? He remember a feeling like fire escaping his mouth when he had awakened and deep in the pit of his gut he knew that it was from the Dark Eco, probably trying to keep him alive.

"We have a few questions for you," Damas said coolly, giving Joel a quick glance.

"Um, okay," Jak replied and looked at them with fleeting eyes.

"Why were you banished?" Joel asked and crossed his arms.

_Of course that question would be asked!_

"I was a member of the Underground and I'm sure you remember how persistant those Krimzon Guards are. And it's because of my headcount. Or at least that's what Torn said."

"And how high is it?"

"In the high thousands."

The two men looked at each other.

"Does that include Metal-Heads?" Damas asked.

"Probably not."

"And Metal-Heads?"

"I would guess about a 100 thousand," Jak shrugged and gave a smirk. "Maybe more."

"Did you kill the Metal-Head leader?"

Jak blinked. This would be one of the hardest ones. He gulped silently. "Yes."

"How?" Damas urged and came a step closer.

Jak flinched in retaliation. This wasn't going to end well, he could tell right now.

"I was eaten."

They blinked and Joel pulled Damas back.

Jak looked to the side as he listened to them.

"Damas this kid isn't what you think he is. He is dangerous. And if Haven tossed him out because of his head count and what he's done, then that might be dangerous for us."

"Or extremely helpful."

"Don't put on those blinders that you have when new people come in. Not this time."

"Joel, he killed the Metal-Head leader. That means that they have to be weakened!"

"Er… not exactly," Jak interrupted and they snapped their gaze at him.

"What do you mean?" Joel asked, coming closer.

"Well, the Palace was destroyed about a week ago and the Dark Eco Bombs came from Metal-Head territory and they have taken all of the Stadium and high class sector."

"How?"

"I have no idea. They weren't in the city until most of the construction happened. And the KG Robots have taken the Industial Sector. It's basically hell."

"Well that's a way to put it."

"It's not what I came from."

Damas blinked. "What?"

"I'm not necessarily from Haven to be exact."

Joel frowned. "Boy, you have about five seconds to make some sense."

"I didn't grow up in Haven, more like Sandover Village."

Joel glared.

"In the way past."

It continued to deepen.

"With time travel."

The old man turned away, a look of disgust on his face. "Damas," he sneered, "I am not going to listen to lies."

"It's the truth," Jak snapped and climbed off the bed. "I was sent back in time with Samos the sage and his daughter! I defeated Gol and Maia using Light Eco! And when I came back I was thrown into prison, because I was a Mute!"

Jowl looked at Damas.

"Who were your parents?" Damas asked, a pitiful look graced his face.

"They were erased from my memory," Jak answered and sighed. If he could tell the truth about Lorelie and how she revealed most of the hidden part of his past, he would. There was no doubt in his mind. It could maybe take this pain of disappoint away.

"I'm sorry," Damas said and sighed. "That means you wouldn't know about my son then."

"A boy of about five?"

"Yes, how did you –"

"The Underground had him, and Kor was the one to take care of him. I had to babysit him once."

"Is he okay?"

"He's perfectly fine," Jak answered, a small smile ghosted onto his mouth. He was probably swimming at Sentinal Beach right now, finding a friend in the loud orange haired boy with the obnoxiously large buck teeth.

The memory of the day when Jak met Daxter was the best. There was a boy his age that he could play with and he wouldn't have to be alone. Samos disliked Daxter at the sight and Jak smiled, because he now knew that it was because of his now small orange friend that Samos disliked the boy.

"Where is he?" Damas asked.

"He's safe. That's all I know."

"That means there's hope! There's hope Joel!" Damas exclaimed and turned to the man beside him, a hopeful smile graced his face.

"I heard him Damas. Believe me I heard him," Joel replied.

Jak looked at him. Pain stabbed through his chest. He was watching his father praying for him to come out of hiding and he couldn't do a single thing for the fear of death to come down on him. The one time he wanted to talk freely and he couldn't for fear of the repercussions.

_It's not fair! This is my father! How can he look at me and not see what everyone else could?__** Look at me!**_

Jak clenched his fists, he could feel the claws protruding into his skin, he could feel his eyes changing as his anger went over him and he could feel their gaze on him as he shook.

He gasped as he felt a tear escaping his black eye.

"Damas, go on ahead. You have many things to do today and I think the boy needs some rest," Joel said, turning Damas around and leading him out. "I'll tell him what's going to be happening later on."

Damas looked at Jak with a confused look.

_Don't leave! Please recognize me!_

"Alright. The entry tests should be ready by the end of next week. Have him go through a few drills," Damas said and nodded at Joel. "Don't make him anymore upset," Damas pleaded and left.

Joel nodded and turned to Jak.

"Stupid, stupid, I'm so stupid," Jak berated himself.

"Kid," Joel interrupted and walked up to Jak, "I don't have any idea what's going through your head, but it doesn't need to show. Damas has a lot to deal with and he doesn't need a rebel to make it even more cluttered. I have a few simple rules: 1) Don't talk back. 2) Obey orders. And 3) Either shoot or die."

Joel took Jak by the chin and glared at him, "Capito?"

Jak's eyes flitted nervously. "Got it."

"Good. Get some rest. Your training starts tomorrow at five a.m. sharp. Get directions from your nurse. Her husband will be there."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Have a nice night."

**Risen Angel: Hehe… So yeah, there's ANGST! THE BEST THING CREATED FOR FANFICTION! ^.^ There's gonna be a lot of it, just in case if you couldn't tell. Jak is in some serious denial and it's only gonna get worse. Believe me. It gets worse. **

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews that you have given me, I know I haven't replied and I feel bad, so next chapter there will be an intro from me replying to all the reviews so far! I'll respond to the ones that actually have some type of feed back or question, so if you want to ask me something, just ask. I'll collect all the questions Saturday and answer all of them for the intro. ^.^ **

**See you next week!**


	7. Chapter Six  History

**Risen Angel: OMG! I has review replies! Awesome!**

**EmbyrEye: Thank you so much for all of the reviews! It means so much! All of your reviews make my day just a little bit better every time I read them! Especially your first review! It's really nice to see a good response to the first real chapter of the story. And to your question about the pairing, it is going to be JakxKeira, I am a full supporter of JaKeira and I am going to be changing the scene that you are talking about a lot. Don't worry. And I am getting back on the plot, slowly but surely. It's going to be another long novel like the last one, only better. I'm only hoping that I can crank out the chapters a lot faster than Never Gone. Thank you once more for reviewing and I hope that you continue to give me your input! *hug* I don't think I could thank you enough!**

**Ecomadness: Thank you so much for your reviews as well! I'm very glad that you like how my story is more interesting than the game, that is a very big compliment and I thank you for it so much. And I am still writing, so I'll be updating a lot. And I'm glad that you like Joel, he's going to be the main reason as to why Jak is going through so much angst and whatnot. He's also a mentor for Jak while training to be a Wastelander, so he plays a big part. And the reason as to why Jak isn't letting Damas know, is because he doesn't exactly want to be hurt anymore than he already has in the past. And if Jak did let him know and Damas reacted the way he thinks he will, then that's going to kind of push Jak over the edge. Later chapters kind of go into more detail about this. Thank you again for reviewing, it means a lot!**

Chapter Six: History

"_Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." Proverbs 2:11_

* * *

"Keira dear, you need to come out," Samos said through the door, leaning his forehead against it. "This isn't healthy."

"I don't want to do anything!" she yelled back.

"I'm going to come in young lady!"

"I don't want you to! Leave me alone!"

Samos rolled his eyes and opened the door. "I don't see why you're throwing such a fit about this," he said, finally seeing the shape that Keira was in.

She sat in the middle of her bed, wearing on of Jak's shirts and a blanket wrapped around her. "This really isn't healthy," he said, walking up to her bed.

"How? Plenty of women wear their loved ones clothes when they've been sentenced to death!" she snapped, her tear filled eyes glared at her father.

"Although I myself do no agree with all of your choices, the choice you are making right now is not right. You have enough wisdom to know that?"

"What do I do then? There's nothing for me to do, especially since the city's on lockdown!"

"First off, get a shower, then eat. I know you haven't eaten."

Keira bowed her head, her hands folded over her flat stomach.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?" Samos replied and sat down on the bed.

"I think something is wrong with me," she whispered and looked at him with pleading eyes.

"No there's not. You're perfectly healthy."

Keira bowed her head and mumbled, "I haven't had my period."

Samos closed his eyes.

"That wasn't what I need to hear."

"Daddy this is serious! I've never been this late before! What if –"

"Don't say it! My feelings for Jak are like a father and if you say what I think you're going to say… Jak's least worry is going to be the sand."

"Daddy, please, I love him!"

"Or do you think that?" Samos accused and glared at her. "Keira you're a child, you can't possibly know what love is."

"I know I love him. There's no doubt in my mind."

Samos stood and walked to the door.

"You want to do something useful? Let go of your imagined love and grow up. This is your mess Keira and I'm not about to clean it up for you once more."

Keira watched her father leave, slamming the door shut. She flinched at the echo it left. How could she possibly stop loving the only one who had loved her back? It's not fair to Jak. And it's not fair to her.

I can't stop loving him. Not when I might be carrying a part of him," she said and fresh tears rolled down her face. "I love him too much."

* * *

Joel stood next to Kleiver, the obese man that Damas had appointed to organize the first of the Wastelander tests. "What do you think of these boys?" Joel asked, looking at the line-up. All of them were familiar, boys that he had seen grow up running through the streets. The one that stood out the most was the boy with the blond hair and annoying talking rat, the smug grin on his face made the memory of his daughter run through his mind.

The defiant grin she always wore and how it made her blue eyes sparkle with determination. Joel's gaze turned to a glare as he stared at the boy.

"Welcome to basic training. You boys will be picking the first volunteer," Joel announced and smirked as everyone but Jak back up. "Good. This, Jak, is an obstacle course. I want you to run through it as it attacks, alters and confuses you in the shortest time."

Jak looked at the towering course to the side. "This is gonna be fun. Ready Dax?"

"Let the Demolition Duo rock this world!" Daxter answered with enthusiasm.

Jak went up to the entrance and smirked. "See ya."

Joel started the timer.

Inside Jak brought forth Blue Eco, speeding up and leapt across a gap in the floor, jumping from pole to pole. He grabbed a ladder and climbed up, landing in a crouch, gathering Yellow Eco. "There are guns Jak. Ready to light it up?"

"Oh, yeah," Jak replied and sprinted forward as the guns suddenly started to fire, and firing back with the Yellow Eco he had gathered.

The structure started to shake violently, causing Jak to lose his balance. Pushing forward he made it to a stairway and he put both hands on the walls as he ran up them. Reaching the top of the shaking course Jak looked down at the ground.

"Didn't realize it was so high up," Jak mused and grinned.

"Blue Eco time?"

"Blue Eco time," Jak smirked and called forth the energy around him, concentrating it into the electric Eco. He channeled it and sped forward, reaching the pole at the end of the platform. He jumped and grabbed the rope, swinging down and as he reached the ground he let go and flipped in the air, landing in the crouch before Joel and Kleiver.

"Three minutes," Joel said, blinking. He looked at Kleiver who was staring at the boy.

"How on earth did you do that?" Kleiver yelled and Jak stood up, his eyes black as he glared at Kleiver.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," he answered and Daxter chuckled.

"Shut it rat, or I'll make you into a fine stew," the fat man warned.

"Easy," Joel said and stepped between them. "Continue the tests. You," he pointed at Jak accusingly, "are coming with me."

"Jeez, what did we do?" Daxter mumbled and rolled his eyes.

"No idea," Jak answered and looked at the other boys around his age. They were staring at him with gaped mouths and glares.

Once out of the arena Joel rounded on Jak. He slammed the teen into a wall and put a finger in his face. "What the hell are you?" he demanded.

The boy's eyes flashed black in a glare.

Joel knew he wasn't imagining things this time. It wasn't simply a trick of the light. This was the boy and nothing else.

"Answer me dammit!"

"I'm a soldier! Trained to surpass expectation! Courtesy of Baron Praxis and Commander Erol!" Jak yelled and ducked out from Joel's hold. "I'm also a weapon made for killing!"

Joel glared at him. There was something familiar about this boy, how he held himself, how he spoke. Everything was familiar. Even the color of his eyes, so similar to those of his lost daughter.

"I'm not gonna fight you boy," Joel growled, crossing his arms. He looked at the orange rat on the boy's shoulder – who had the same glare – and said, "And Kleiver might actually make you into soup. So behave. Both of you. Now get back in there."

Joel watched the two enter the arena once more. "That boy is going to give me more gray hair," he grumbled and slowly entered the arena with a shake of his head. "It's gonna be a long day."

* * *

Joel was right of course. The new recruits had been put through multiple courses of rigorous training. Putting their abilities to the test to see which ones would survive in the desert.

Surprising Joel and Kleiver both, the blond teen – so out of place with the recruits – had the best stamina, strength, persistence, and excelled in every order given. Jowl wasn't sure if it was the reprimand that he had given the boy or the "gift" that Praxis had given him that stood him apart from the others. Either way the boy didn't exactly need the training.

"There is something odd about that boy," Joel mumbled, annoyed at how well Jak was performing.

He looked up at the sun. "Time to be don.e"

Kleiver nodded. "Alright ya yeller bellies, line up!"

Panting, the twelve teens lined up in front of the two older men. Joel looked them over, giving them a discriminating eye. "You are dismissed. Return tomorrow rested and ready for more physical training," Joel ordered and watched as all but Jak and the rat left. "You are dismissed, what don't you get?"

Jak looked away. "We don't have any place to go!" Daxter yelled and crossed his small arms. "If you care to remember, we've been in the infirmary!"

"Dammit," Joel cursed, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I have space in my home," a man said, a good foot and a half taller than Jak. "He won't be a problem."

"Isn't your wife pregnant?" Joel asked.

"yes, but I'm sure she'll accommodate. Don't worry."

"Well there ya go. Flynn, Jak is your new ward. Have fun."

Jak looked at the tall man standing beside him. "Come on, Maddie's probably making dinner. Best time to break the news."

"Will she be by knives?" Daxter asked cautiously.

"More than likely."

"Do they hurt more than wrenches?"

"Probably," Flynn gave Daxter an odd look.

"Well, hey, she can't be worse than Keira!"

Jak fingered the necklace on his neck.

Flynn noticed and patted the bland on the back. "This'll be a good time to get you familiar with the streets too. I live by the ocean."

"Where is that?"

"Remember where the infirmary was?" Flynn asked and Jak nodded. "It's on the exact opposite side of the city. You'll see. And don't worry."

"Worry about what?" Jak asked curiously.

"The girl. You'll see her soon."

"When? I was banished because of my head count. I highly doubt they will welcome me back!"

Flynn rolled his eyes. "If rumors are true, you'll find a way. But enough of that. Let's get going. Maddie will be getting worried if I'm not home soon."

Jak was silent as Flynn led the way through the city. Flynn stopped him at one house and pointed at it.

"That house belong to Old Man Jenkins. He's been here since the city was first founded. He's also very territorial."

"How so?" Jak inquired and gave a wary glance at Daxter.

"You'll see soon," Flynn answered and continued on his way through the city.

"What's the name of the city?" Jak asked and looked around, seeing men and women with large guns strapped to their backs and children running around with actual smiles on their faces.

Flynn gave him a funny look and answered, "Spargus. I'm amazed you hadn't heard of it before."

"Didn't exactly take any history lessons." _I lived in the history._

Daxter snickered and curled around Jak's neck. "But we did live it," he whispered and Jak smiled with a nod.

"Well Mar founded it, just like Haven. He obviously knew somehow that not everyone would abide by his laws. Though he didn't exactly have a great place to send them. Mar went out to the desert and searched for a place that could be livable and farmed. There's not much farming though. Anyways, he found this area and started to build. I'm sure you know that Mar only had one son right?"

"Believe me I know."

"Good. Well his son had two of his own and they each got their own "kingdom". The youngest was more warrior than diplomat and because of that he got Spargus and became something a warden. When his older brother was assassinated he returned to Haven because his brother never got married or had any children. So Ares – the first king of Spargus – because king of Haven, got married, cleaned out the courts of any treason and had a daughter. That made him ecstatic, so he got rid of his wife, kept his daughter, married a younger woman of about fifteen, got her pregnant and sent his first child to Spargus."

"And he got away with it?"

"Of course he did, he was the king."

"That's nuts," Daxter mumbled.

"Well he got what he wanted. His young wife was basically locked away and as soon as one baby was out, she was pregnant with another. And this was a rumor I heard, but Ares had given her a "toy" as people put it, and that was why she kept popping them out."

"Not exactly a great legacy," Jak mumbled and rolled his eyes. This was his family history! It was splendid knowing that he had a crazy family.

"But Ares had a plan. The daughter he had sent out to Spargus was his heir. He wanted her tough enough for Haven and he knew she shouldn't be if he kept her in Haven. He simply created drama because he could. And when he announced Kellrena as heir most of his children ordered assassination on her and him, and in turn were killed."

"Woah. Trippy," Daxter mumbled.

"Basically."

"Anything else crazy happen after that?" Jak asked, running a hand through his hair.

"It was pretty quiet after that. Kellrena had married in Spargus to someone she loved, had two kids, one of them being Damas and she ruled both cities, but when she died, ties to Spargus died. Damas married, had a troupe of kids and I'm sure you know the rest."

"I do," Jak replied and sighed. _What a family._

"We're here," Flynn said and pointed at house. "Come on."

Jak followed him inside and soaked in his surroundings. It was a nice house, furnished well and he could tell well stocked by the smell coming from the kitchen.

"Maddie, I've got a surprise," Flynn called out, taking off his boots. "Take off your shoes," he whispered.

"Oh yeah? And what might that be?" she asked, coming out of the kitchen.

Jak was pulling off his boot when Maddie saw him. "Who's that?" she asked and he landed on his butt at the sound of her voice. "He's talented."

Daxter snickered at Jak. "Classy dude."

"Why does the rat talk?"

"Not a rat! I am an ottsel!"

"Ottsel then. And why are they here?"

"They needed a place to stay and I'm sure that if someone didn't take them they would've ended up on the street. Please don't throw them out like Joel would."

"They can stay as long as they help out. I about to pop as you can see and I can't do everything."

Jak stood up and smiled at her. "I can do whatever, I won't complain."

"Where was he earlier? Boy if you were my son I would kiss you!"

"I'm eighteen and thank you. I think."

"Oh where are my manners, come in and eat. And then a hair cut, it looks like you cut it with shears."

"Something like that."

* * *

**Risen Angel: Sweet! Jak's family history is a piece of work! XD That was fun writing, cause I went off the wall writing that and it was so out there and so possible! Oh it was awesome! Oh and Joel kinda sorta knows that Jak's hiding something... if you can't tell. ^.^ And um... yeah. Flynn and Maddie are my own characters and they are going to be housing Jak until he can get a place of his own, basically. They are also a pawn in my head... don't ask, you don't want to know. But Maddie is about to pop, like three months away... Yeah... Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you review cause that would make me a very happy person and make my day tens time better than it already is!**


	8. Chapter Seven  Legacy

Chapter Seven – Legacy

"_Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it, but folly brings punishment to fools." Proverbs 16:22_

Jak kept staring at Maddie and Flynn, how they weren't ashamed of the love they shared. He could already hear Samos if he did that Keira, the tone of disappointment so clear in his own mind. "He'd never let me live…" Jak mumbled under his breath, remembering that night which seemed so long ago. He moved the food on his plate with an absent mind, not noticing the stares from both Flynn and Maddie.

Flynn whispered to her and she sighed sadly. "Oh you poor boy," she cooed, putting her hand over his.

Jak looked at her with a confused glare. "I'm not some poor kid. I'm a monster, end of story," Jak growled and pulled his hand away.

"Not to me," she stated.

"You don't know anything about me. How could you possibly know if I am a monster or not?" Jak snapped.

_She doesn't know anything._

"Jak, calm down," Daxter urged and pulled on his pant leg. "Your feet are sparking."

Jak looked down and sure enough Dark Eco was crackling around his feet. "Great," he growled and closed his eyes. How could he not feel that? He used to be able to feel pain every time there was a surge of the Eco in his body. He'd been having a lot of these surges since he got to Spargus, which he didn't understand. It felt like he was standing at the edge of a knife and one wrong move and he would fall into the madness of Dark Eco.

"Will you tell us why?" Maddie asked, her hand resting on her large stomach.

Jak glanced at her, her visage changing to Keira round with a baby and he wanted to smile, but he couldn't. So sure of the fact that Samos would either kill him or make his life completely miserable.

"It's nothing to enjoy, so there's no point," Jak replied and looked at Daxter.

"None of the reasons why the banished are banished are enjoyable. Might as well," Flynn added and smirked. "Everyone has a reason. You might as well brag at least."

Daxter smirked. "Let me," he said and jumped up on to the table. "Well it all started when we went to Misty Islaaaaaaann – "

"No," Jak snapped and glared at him. "Not that."

"Oh why not? At least I actually helped in saving the world from utter destruction then! When you killed Kor I sat on the sidelines!"

Flynn and Maddie looked at each other. These boys save the world? They were only eighteen! How on the Precursor's souls did they manage that?

"Fine, then the next time we save the world, you can pull the trigger and with the nonexistent money we'll get, we'll get you a pair of pants. Sound good?" Jak sneered. Two times and they never got any compensation. Of course the first time there was no real need for anything, but now money was basically everything.

"Sounds great! Oh… wait… never mind," Daxter mumbled, finally coming to the same conclusion as Jak.

"Will you explain what you meant by "saving the world"?" Flynn exclaimed, staring at them.

"Go ahead Daxter, and please embellish it beyond belief," Jak mumbled under his breath and leaned back in his chair. "You remember it better than me anyways."

"Yes!" Daxter exclaimed and leaped into the air excitedly. "Now where was I? Oh yeah! It all started when we went to Misty Island. Have you heard of it? No? Well it's this island – obviously – off the coast of Sandover Village and there we discovered a plot to cover the world in Dark Eco by the hands of Gol and Maia Acheron! They were creepy siblings by the way. So we sneak away and we find this pool of Dark Eco and BAM! a Lurker attacks us and Jak here fought it and during the scuffle _I _stepped in and started to throw some punches – landing some pretty good hits I might add – and the beast _threw_ me – the most handsome boy of the village – right into that pool of Dark Eco! Unbelievable! And then I popped right back out! As this fine beast!"

Jak rolled his eyes. _I remember it a little differently. I knew he would do this._ He thought with a smile.

"And we escaped Misty Island, sneaking around hundreds of Lurkers. So with a lot of persuasion I convinced Jak to go to Samos and find a way to change me back, cause there was no way I was going to stay an ottsel! The Green Sage yelled at us and then broke the news that he couldn't do anything and that the only person who knew anything of Dark Eco was Gol – which at the time we didn't even know that he was the same guy planning to drown the world in Dark Eco! Crazy right?"

Jak remembered that Samos had yelled at Daxter the majority of the time, even though going to Misty Island had in fact been his own idea. But Daxter had kept his mouth shut about that and even though the majority of what happened to Daxter was hi fault, his best friend still stayed by his side. And they saved the world of course.

"So we went north, where Samos said was the last place that Gol was known to be found, but we had to go on foot the entire way because the warp gates weren't working. When we got to Rocky Village the Blue Eco Sage was no where to be found and there was a huge – like Metal-Head leader huge – Lurker throwing boulders engulfed in flames down on the village. So after clearing out the village we went to go fight the Lurker and took it down with Yellow Eco! It was the coolest thing ever! And then we had to go through the Mountain Pass to get to the Red Eco Sage's place on the very first A-grav zoomer! It was awesome! And by the time Samos caught up with us wecame to the conclusion that something was going on, considering that two of the four Sages were no where to be found. And when Samos got there Gol and Maia revealed themselves and the plan that they had concocted and they warned Samos that he was next. Then they simply disappeared and Samos put us to work again, finding Power Cells and Precursor Orbs and whatever else he could think of to stop Gol and Maia from ever getting enough Dark Eco."

Jak remembered that. He also remembered Keira's devastation when her father was taken. After working so hard to hinder Gol, the demented man still got what he was looking for. And even though he was Mute he promised her that he would get her father back.

"And when we got to Gol and Maia's citadel we discovered that Samos had been taken, so we went into double time rescuing all the Sages. Which we learned that when all four Sages channeled their set Eco into a specified place they could create Light Eco! And as we were fighting Gol and Maia, it appeared! It was so white, pure and the perfect weapon. And I made the final decision. Ya see, Samos said that the Light Eco would change me back, so my first though was to ya know… CHANGE BACK! but being the oh so generous person that I am – or ottsel, which ever you prefer – we used the Light Eco to destroy Gol and Maia."

Flynn and Maddie stared at them with jaws dropped. That story was straight out of history books and the ottsel had either recently read it or pulled it out of nowhere. Daxter gave a cheeky grin, "And that's how I saved the world!"

"Daxter…" Jak mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh fine," he grumbled. "That's how _we_ saved the world. Though I did most of the work."

Jak rolled his eyes again and finally noticed the shocked looks on the couple in front of them. He had gotten a much worse reaction from Joel and his… father, that this was a breath of fresh air, more or less. "It's true," Jak said and sighed. "Though it's a longer story to explain how."

Maddie blinked and asked, "What makes you think that we believe you're lying? Though it is a fantastic story, it seems far fetched considering that it's right from history and bed time stories."

"Ya hear that, Jak? We're in bed time stories! Oh this is so worth it!" Daxter exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

"It's just peachy, Dax," Jak replied, no where near as enthused as his friend. Sure their story lasted hundreds of years, but how much did they really know. Did they know that he was a Mute, a tool for the Precursors? That he unknowingly had absolutely no choice? That he could channel every Eco with ease, was trained to do so? Did they know that deep inside he _wanted_ to kill Gol and Maia?

Jak shuddered. He had never told anyone what he had felt when they were battling the evil twins. He had never had a reason. Back then that was something warriors did, the act of killing. And even then they simply fought Lurkers; they _never_ had to kill one of their own. In a way Jak felt that he was a traitor, not a savior as everyone called him.

"And how do your bed time stories end?" he asked, guilt over the Metal-Heads coming as they had left racked through him.

"The hero disappeared as the Metal-Heads came. And no one was able to do a single thing to fight them," Flynn answered and looked Jak over.

"That's what I thought," Jak mumbled and hung his head. "We never should have touched that stupid machine. We should have left well enough alone and not mess with it."

"You got a voice out of it though," Daxter offered, his ears drooping.

"And how often do I ever use it except to argue or yell at someone?"

"Not very often, but recently you've used it more! Especially with Keira!" Jak flinched at her name. "Oops. Sorry."

Flynn looked at Maddie. "Do something," he whispered fervently. She nodded and looked at Jak.

She stood up and walked around the table to stand behind him. "Do you remember your mother at all?" she asked and put her hands on his shoulders. He shook his head. "Well, when I was upset, my mom would massage my head and sing me a song. Would you be upset if I did that to you?"

"I guess not," he mumbled and his shoulders sagged. It was one more thing that he didn't ever have, a mother who put everything down to make him feel better. One more thing to remind him of how deprived he really was.

"Come here," Maddie said and held her hand out, which he took reluctantly and she led him into the living room. "Sit on the floor."

He did so and she sat behind him on the couch. "Let me know when you feel uncomfortable, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied and sighed.

Maddie eased his goggled off, along with his scarf, running her fingers through his hair. She started to hum quietly and dug her fingers deeper to his scalp, moving them back and forth to ease the tension she felt.

"_What do we know of heroes, who fight all of our battles?"_ she sang softly and moved her fingers delicately behind his ears. Jak opened his eyes, a sudden realization hit him. He _knew_ this song. He heard it from somewhere, but he didn't know what from. It wasn't around in Sandover, so it had to be from when he was smaller. His missing past.

Maddie continued to hum the words of the song and Jak closed his eyes again, suddenly seeing that part of his past.

* * *

**I'm so sorry! I completely forgot about last week and I didn't ever realize it until saturday and there was no way I was going to update so late, so I just waited and sorry to disappoint... but there won't be a double up-date. I'm not that nice, and I have to write a lot more if I'm going to be double up-dating. ^.^**

So yeah... CLIFF HANGER! Don't cha love me? You better.

So review! See you next week! 


	9. Chapter Eight Acceptance

Chapter Eight – Acceptance

"_A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep – So shall your poverty come on you like a robber, And your need like an armed man." Proverbs 6:10-11_

* * *

"_What do we know of heroes, who fight all of our battles? Show us all of you. So we may know the truth. We ask so much of you. And yet we're never happy. What do we know of you? Are you fire? Are you fury?_"

The sweet voice sang to the baby in her arms. His blue eyes stared up at her in admiration, mouth open as if speaking, but no sound ever came out. A sad smile came upon her face as she rocked her son. A Mute. That's what they called him. Dead already because of the destiny he had.

"Not while I'm alive," she whispered and stood up, walking to the window. "_What do we know of you? You who have sacrificed so much. Why do you continue when you are so hurt? What do we know of you? Are you fire? Are you fury? Are you always there? Answer our prayers savior._"

* * *

Jak jumped in surprise. Was that his mother? Was that beautiful small woman his mother? "No way," he mouthed, looking around him. Flynn was giving him a curious look, Maddie was still singing behind him and he could hear Daxter's light snores from somewhere. Had he dreamed that? Was it his imagination? Was he going crazy?

He panted softly. What had happened? Was he gaining his memories back? Where was Lorelie or Onin when he needed them? He needed answers. He needed a normal life, parents, the things that other teens his age had. He started to pant harder.

Why was he denied that kind of life? Why did he have to be the hero? He didn't have a hero complex. Hell he wanted to kill everyone in Haven because of what they did to his world. He was anything but a hero.

"Jak are you okay?" Flynn asked and stared at him.

"Where's the beach?" he asked and stood up, Maddie's hands gently falling from him.

"Just down the street. You can't miss it," she answered, watching him walk out the door. "Is he okay?" Flynn simply shrugged, the front door slamming shut.

Jak didn't bother putting his boots on, just one more thing that went against what he was used to. He remembered going everywhere barefoot with the sand, grass blades, leaves, dirt, everything getting in his toes. He missed it. Jak understood why shoes were important while in Haven, that place was a warzone with disease all over it.

But here, he didn't feel the need to have to wear those items. There were sand and rocks below his feet, it was like home. "Well, almost," he mumbled and finally saw the beach.

Walking fast and then breaking out into a run he went knee deep into the ocean. The water was warm and the foam from the salt settled on his pant legs, the moon's reflection wavering from the waves rolling in.

He looked up at the moon. "Never changing, always watching," he whispered. He remembered Maia saying that only with disgust in her voice. He said it now with sadness, over the loss of everything he had ever known and loved. "At least you've stayed the same."

He closed his eyes, digging his toes into the wet sand, grounding himself, holding his hands palms up. The familiar sensation of Green Eco tingled his finger tips, his hands glowing softly. Jak put his hands in the water, sea week growing up to him with greed for the Eco. He remembered how Samos would go off on lessons on how Green Eco is everywhere; you just have to know how to find it.

The sea weed curled around his hands as if they were holding them. This was a way to give back to the earth for supplying such an abundant amount of life, at least that was what Samos had always said when he brought a plant back to life. Jak sighed sadly. He removed his hands and the Eco dissipated into the water, leaving a light glow on his skin.

He back out of the water and once on dry land he fell back. The sound and smell of the ocean calmed him, reminding him of simpler times and of his safe life. "I want that back, Jak mumbled and pushed himself up to rest on his elbows. "I miss it."

His ears pricked at the sound of shuffling feet through the sand. Looking out of the corner of his eye he saw a tall man making his way to him. _Great, just what I needed._

"What are you doing here?"

Jak stopped breathing. It was Damas. Finally after a few seconds his breath returned shallow. What did he want? Did he see him conjure the Green Eco?Was he going to demand the answer? Was he going to send him away? Have him killed for his powers? "Thinking," he answered quietly, looking away completely.

"It's nice to come here to think. I did when I was young and I do it now still."

"About what?" Jak asked and slowly looked at the man. He was starting to see similarities between them and he yearned for his father to see them as well.

"What I did wrong in Haven. What I did today. Did I do anything to anger my people? My son. My family," Damas listed and sighed. "Mainly if I'm doing anything right."

"You're doing better than Haven and definitely better than how Ashelin is governing," Jak replied.

Damas smirked. "I didn't expect much out of a Praxis. Though she must be doing better than her father."

"Yeah she is," Jak replied and looked over at the king. "She's the one who gave me the tracking device."

"How long were you out there? Most people are at least conscious when we find them."

"That was day three when you found us. They dropped us off right before the sandstorm and we had hidden in a cave, we traveled at night and the second night we found a river."

"I'm amazed that a city boy thought of that," Damas joked and sat down.

"Wasn't always a city boy," Jak mumbled under his breath.

"So Joel told me that you beat the obstacle course in the shortest amount of time he has ever seen. Mind telling me how?" Damas asked and looked at the teen. "You beat the lowest time, which was five minutes."

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," Jak answered, sifting his fingers through the sand.

"Understandable. After all, it's not like you have super powers or anything like that," Damas teased.

"Right," he replied and gulped.

"Did you know that we tape all training exercises?"

"What?"

"So where'd the Eco come from? I know you can channel because no one here can manipulate Eco as well as you can, as seen by that video."

"My hands."

"Obviously. But how?"

"I can create Eco. Kind of like a Sage."

"So you're a Sage?"

"No. Far from it. I was a Mute and I grew up with Eco and being trained to know how to use it. I just recently was able to create Eco from nothing."

Damas blinked. "So you're not a Sage. You were a Mute? And you're a Channeler? I'm amazed you're not dead yet!"

"I should be…" Jak mumbled and sighed, watching a wave run over his bare feet.

"Show me."

"What?"

"Show me how you make the Eco."

"It's hard to explain."

"I don't want an explanation. Just a demonstration. Show me."

Jak gulped. What was he supposed to do? Deny his father? "What one?" he asked, closing his eyes in preparation.

"Yellow."

Jak took a deep breath. Readying himself to create the Yellow Eco that Damas had requested. He pictured himself fighting Klaww so long ago, firing the projectile Eco with ease after aiming so carefully. He felt sparks tingle off of his fingers and flicking it he shot off a pebble sized bomb. "It's really not that special," Jak mumbled and Damas stared at his hands. Suddenly becoming self-conscious of how big a freak he really was he diminished the small amount of Eco he created.

"You're marvelous! This is a special power, something to brag about!" Damas exclaimed with a grin. "You are a very special boy, Jak. More so than you realize."

"Haven doesn't think so."

"That's because they have their heads up their asses. You don't need their acceptance. The only people who need to accept you for who you are are you friends and family."

Jak looked at his father. Did he accept him? even with these powers that scared almost everyone he knew? This had to be a dream. There was no way around it.

"Do you?"

"Accept you?" Jak nodded. "Yes. Everyone here has their own gifts and talents. I know this and whether I admit it or not, everyone needs to accept one another."

So it was his job to accept him. _It's not real?_ Jak blinked and looked away. He wanted so badly to tell his story. All of it. Every detail and chase down loose ends. He wanted real acceptance from his father. He wanted this hole in his chest to go away!

His eyes went black and he gasped, realizing that his fangs were showing. "I'm sorry. I have to go," Jak said, standing up and sprinting away.

Damas stared at the fleeing boy. "What the hell?" he asked and stood, slowly following Jak.

Jak turned down a narrow alley, sinking down behind a box. "Stupid powers!" he growled and looked at his hands, his nails were slowly growing and changing colors. "Why are you so out of control? What do you want from me?" he hissed and heard soft steps behind him. Jak glanced and saw Damas. "Great," he growled and stood up, walking further into the dark alley. He squeezed through and jumping into the air, grabbed the wall with his claws, scaling it was ease. _Stay away, please._

Jak stood on the roof of the tall building, the moon illuminating everything, especially the purple sparks sporadically coming off of him with every breath he took. "Now I see why Maia hated you so," he hissed as he glared at the moon. "Never changing, always watching."

_This is what Maia meant. Never even getting the chance to be able to be alone, because some__one__ is always watching._ He growled and stayed away from the edge of the building. "Why can't things simply be easy?" he asked quietly, never hearing Damas find a way to the top of the building.

* * *

"What would be the fun in that?" Veger sneered in his spot at the Precursor Monk Temple. He watched the seeing glass that the Head Monk had given him with amusement. "Poor boy," he commented as he watched Jak look at his clawed hands.

Veger smirked. He knew Ashelin had slipped the tracking device. He knew that the boy would live. He knew everything. Especially the fact that he knew that Jak was Damas' son.

"Oh the beautiful irony!" Veger laughed at the pain that he had caused. "Now to put my plan to action."

* * *

***plays dramatic music***

Yeah, Veger knows. Veger knows everything because that makes so much sense in my own mind. bleh So many plot twists to keep track of. So many!

Also, if you think it's weird that Jak is having so many conflicting emotions about Damas, you're weird! Okay, one: he's a teenager. Two: teenagers are a ball of conflicting emotions. HAVE YOU BEEN TO HIGHSCHOOL? And three: he's basically been disowned by everyone he knows, if Damas doesn't accept him - his own father - than what reason does he have to really live? He's a troubled teenager.

And so my rant will continue.

I'm sick of reading fanfics where Jak is this heartless man because he's been through so much, he doesn't have emotions. BULL! He's eighteen! Even Naughty Dog realizes this, did you see the angst he had when Damas was reprimanding him for being so headstrong? I did. He is a nuclear bomb of conflicting emotions. One wrong thing and he go boom. His powers run on emotions, mainly angry ones, but emotions none the less. It's annoying reading fanfics where Jak is just always angry. "Jak angry! Jak go HULK!" bleh As if. He is going to be sad. He is going to be happy. He's going to be basically every other teenager in the world. I'm trying to make this point here, because it's annoying seeing that people think him as this emotionless character when he is so much more.

Man that felt good. I hope I get my point across in this story, because there is no way I can continue doing fanfiction if at least some people don't comprehend this.

Oi.

Time for bed.


	10. Chapter Nine Animal

**Dear J-bird, thank you very much for reviewing! I hope you get the time to read Never Gone, because the majority of this story will make sense if you do. ^.^ And I guess there are some things that spell check just doesn't pick up, it was probably something stupid and spelt the word right, just not the right word. XD And the Bible quotes is my way of one: setting the mood for chapter and two: getting the word out in some form. I started doing it when I first started writing it and it just stuck, so I try to write each chapter and then pick a verse that fits what happens. I'm glad you like it. I have a specific parable in mind for Jak and Damas, but I don't want to spoil it just yet, so just hang on tight and keep reading! Thanks again for reviewing! **

Chapter Nine – Animal

"_A wise man scales the city of the mighty, and brings down the trusted strong hold." Proverbs 21:22_

* * *

The weeks seemed to go by in a flash and the training continued at a rigorous pace, advancing the teens in physical means. And in the grueling sun even Jak grew exhausted as summer rolled in and the temperatures rose well above one hundred and twenty degrees when the sun was high in the sky. And because of the conditions Jak was lacking, he was adapting much more than before.

Flynn was having Jak help Maddie with chores around the house when he was gone on recon missions in the desert. Which Jak learned that Maddie liked to talk, almost as much as Tess and he almost never had to respond to her unless it was a direct question to him. And as Jak did all of the tasks that Maddie gave him he started to see Keira in her.

Not because of her interests, or habits, or looks, but of how she talked to him and how she held herself. Even with the baby Jak could see Keira, and he missed her so much more because of it. It was as if a new hole in his chest was there and he had no idea of how to close it or fill it back up.

"Jak? Don't drop that," Maddie warned as Jak held a bowl for her.

"Huh? Oh," he tightened his hold on the bowl, "sorry."

"It's alright. What were you thinking about?" she asked as she put the chopped onions into the dish she was making. She gave a knowing smile to him, telling him that he was going to whether he wanted to or not.

"Um, a girl back in Haven."

"Do you like her?"

"Um… yes, I do. Very much," he answered, looking into the bowl. "Where I'm from, you give the one you plan on marrying a gift, I had made her this necklace." He fingered the shells. "Took forever to make this too."

"It's a very pretty necklace," Maddie commented, vigorously chopping the red peppers. "What's her name?"

"Keira. She grew up with me."

"That is a very pretty name. What is she like?"

"She's a mechanic. She likes to invent things," Jak moved the bowl to the side of the counter as Maddie swiped the veggies in. "She gave me a JET-Board that she had made from scratch. Fun to ride around on in Haven."

"It sounds like it. You really like her, don't you?"

"Yes. She came when I was dropped off. It was terrible and I thought Veger was going to send her with me. She has a mouth that can spit fire when she gets mad enough."

"Something that you adore."

"One of these days though, it's going to get her in trouble, but I love her for it. She speaks up for me, especially when we were younger. I wouldn't be surprised if she was finding a way to appeal my sentence."

"That's loyalty," Maddie said with a smile. "I know that someday you'll be back together."

_Soon as I find a reason to go to Haven._

* * *

"He's never gonna come back!" Keria sobbed and threw her wrench across the garage. "Why should I even hope that he will? It's been two months!"

Tess sat by the work bench on a bucket. "You're not the only one who was left behind. Daxter left me too!" she exclaimed. "Though he didn't leave me knocked up."

Tess had been genuinely surprised when Keira confirmed their suspicions. Her moods were off the charts and when she did eat, it was a mixture of the oddest foods, nothing that she had ever eaten before, she would seclude herself in the garage for days and had in the mean time created a newer JET-Board with speed boosts and edited the shape and functionality of the Hell-cat cruisers. But that was if she was in a good mood though, which Tess learned was a rare occurrence, as was evident by the random tantrum.

"How were we supposed to know? And no matter what Daddy says, I pressured him into it! It's my fault!" Keira screamed and sobbed harder. "I never should have done that. I should have left it at kisses and embraces! I should have waited. Why does nothing work out right?"

"Because you are infatuated with a Mute! Nothing is going to go right when a Mute is involved! You know that," Tess exclaimed and stood up, taking Keira by the arms. "Don't be the stuck up brat that Ashelin is. Did you know that she was planning on marrying Jak, simply because she wanted the crown? Don't let her take him from you. You're smarter than that."

"She was going to do what?" Keira asked and her tears froze.

"Ashelin was going to convince Jak to marry her. Torn told me about it. And you know exactly how in love with her he is. I don't understand it. She's so clueless to his intentions."

"I thought Jak was to mine for a long time."

"Yeah, but he snapped out of it. Ashelin won't."

"Unless Torn really advances on her. Then she won't be able to even notice Jak."

"That's gonna be hard."

"Why?"

"Torn's been stationed in the Port."

"Crap," Keira cursed and stomped her foot. "Now nothing will stop her from taking Jak."

"I'm not exactly sure if she's going to anymore, especially with you pregnant with Jak's baby. She's not one to cause that much drama."

"But she would have been just fine doing it if I wasn't pregnant? Baby or not I would kick her ass before she touches him. He's mine!" Keira snapped and huffed. "I can't believe her."

"I couldn't either when Torn told me. He looked like a kicked puppy and he never shows any weakness, but she is his Achilles Heel, and in the worst way. Ashelin could ask him to do anything and he would do it. It's almost like he's lost without her."

Keira sighed; she could understand completely what torn was feeling. She lived that life for most of her youth in Sandover, all alone whenever Jak and Daxter went on one of their adventures. "I can understand torn," she sighed and looked at Tess. "What are going to do? I can't go anywhere, I promised Jak."

"I'm going to be in the Port at the gun range making new guns for the army. I'm okay with it, I like the smell of gun powder and the sound of shells hitting the ground, but there's not much else you can do."

"Don't remind me," Keira mumbled and rolled her eyes away. "They won't let me alter anymore cruisers, said that the alterations didn't make much of a difference. That's bull right there. I made them faster, stronger and with better fire power. How is that not helpful?"

"Veger trying to make us lose this war," Tess answered and rolled her eyes. "Perks of being in the gun range, everyone talks."

Keira smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. You have any requests?"

"Don't work yourself too hard. And if you find the time, build that diagram you showed me. That will be one awesome project," Tess answered with a smile. "And don't worry about Jak. He'll find a way back."

"He better, or I'll find him myself."

Tess smiled. "Take care Keira."

"I will. And watch your six."

* * *

"Get up! The Mauraders are right behind you, ready to chop your head off!" Joel screamed at Jak who was running a harder obstacle course. He panted and got back up, sprinting ahead to the next stage. "Get going! They aren't going to stop when you're out of breath!"

Jak growled and jumped to the pole and grabbed the monkey bars, swinging across and pushing himself to the end. He rolled as he threw himself to the platform, landing on his knees. "I hate this," he mumbled as he picked himself back up and trudged forward with a limp. According to Joel he had broken his ankle and in this course he had to act like he had.

"Faster! They crossed the gap and are right after you! Get going!"

Jak groaned and ran ahead, stopping at the hill that declined like a mountain. "Great," he complained and stepped off, sliding down with his "good" foot and his hands. He ran off the slope and stumbled forward to the finish line.

"Finally," he sighed and fell to his knees.

"Good, very good," Joel said, clapping his hands slowly while walking up to him. "Except that you'd be dead."

"Really? Is that so?" Jak asked and stood up. "Why don't you run it if you are so sure I'd be dead?"

"Because I'm the master of this course. What I say goes," Joel growled. "Where is your respect?"

"I don't give it to people willingly," Jak answered and glared at Jowl. "It's been used up by too many."

"Oh, but don't you trust me Jak?"

Jak's glare dropped. "Not as far as I can throw you."

Gol's sick words emerged from his subconscious.

* * *

"Don't you trust me Jak? After all we both are just so similar," Gol hissed, his voice gargled and distorted, sending shivers down Jak's spine. "I was just like you too, under the Green Sage as a charge, doing little missions for him, being trained to become a great channler." It was so much like him.

_Where's Daxter?_ Jak looked around nervously. He could hear Gol as if he was right next to him and yet no matter where he looked he could not find the crazy sage.

"But that was until I discovered my true purpose. Can you guess what the purpose was Jak? Can you tell me?"

Gol laughed hysterically, dropping down in front of Jak. "Of course you can't! You're a Mute! So much like me, only you have a hero complex!" he exclaimed, Dark Eco sparking off of him with his excitement. "A tool and absolutely nothing else! Soon as you are no longer of use to the Precursors they will smite you, as if you were nothing but a small insignificant ant. How does that make you feel? To know that even after all you've done, you are nothing? That would anger me. Does it make you angry Jak?"

Jak gulped. He knew his fate. He's known it for forever. _It's not a surprise._ Jak looked at Gol, his eyes darkening. Of course he was angry, though he didn't exactly know when his business would be done.

"I can tell that you are. I'm not surprised. Don't you want to get back at them for making you who and what you are? You could. Join me and my sister and together we three will rule the world in the image that we please. And you could have whatever you wanted. Wine, fame, women," Gol smiled and leaned in close, "a voice."

Jak touched his throat. _A voice? They could do that?_ It was a dream. All he had to do was say yes and the dream could come true? Could it really be that simple?

Gol grinned. "Just say yes and it will all be yours."

Jak looked at Gol, the smug look on his face gave Jak shivers. It would be so easy to say yes and give up on everything that he had worked so hard on, to get anything that he could ever want. _It could be so easy. No more fights or risks. Everything in the palm of my hand._

But what about the Sages? What would they say? What would they do? Would they find a way to get rid of him? Erase him from history because he was a Mute who fell into temptation? He could see them doing that. He could see Samos' disappointed glare and the sadness and failure just radiating off of him. Jak was raised better than to fall into temptation and take the easy way out of things.

He looked at Gol with a glare.

"So? What's your answer?"

* * *

"No," Jak said, standing his ground against Joel. The old man held two broad swords, ready to fight. "I won't fight."

"And why not? This is just a training exercise. Are you scared that I'm going to beat you?"

"Not in the slightest," Jak growled and glared. If anything came out of the training it would be that Joel would see what Jak really was and then go and report to Damas how much of a monster he really was. At least some of the truth would be revealed. "Take your best shot."

"With pleasure," Joel smirked and threw one of the swords at Jak, which the teen dodged. In the confusion Joel charged and swung his sword, whizzing past Jak's head.

Jak snarled and leaped away, animal-like instincts kicking in. He crouched in defense and out of habit his arms flashed to his dark state, Dark Eco sparked rapidly and his skin turned to a steel gray. "Come and get me now," he growled and grinned at Joel's gaped face.

* * *

**^.^ Hallo! How are you?**

**Sorry for the late update. I updated it on devART and I was all like YEAH! and then I got distracted by Tobuscus playing games... T.T Not a very good excuse... **

**But yeah. I did an odd job of doing the whole someone asks and question and in the next scene someone answers.**

**I was doing something weird.**

**And watching Tobuscus play games is funny if only because you know what you're doing and he doesn't. *blinks* I feel pretty smart when he runs around in circles. T.T I have so many other things I could be doing. Anyways... see you next week!**


	11. Chapter Ten Identity

Chapter Ten – Identity

"_Even in __laughter__ the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness." Proverbs 14:13_

"Damas open the room!" Joel yelled and Jak cringed. Joel pounded on the door to the throne room and continued to curse and scream at Damas to open the door. _Oh boy, the shit's gonna hit the fan real quick._

In the arena Jak lost control, almost going fully Dark and tearing Joel to pieces for "attacking" him. Jak knew it was a training exercise, but his dark half didn't think so. Joel had called out to the Wastelanders watching and they subdued Jak, but only enough for him to come to his sense. Joel had then dragged him to the palace and up to this door that they were standing in front of.

"First you just use Eco from nowhere and now you change into some monster? When does it end?" Joel screamed at Jak and finally the door opened.

Damas stared at them. "Joel? Jak?" a glared appeared on his face. "What's going on?"

"This boy," Joel pushed Jak forward, "almost killed me! And it wasn't normal Eco this time!"

Jak looked away, closing his eyes. Why would they accept him for anything that he's done? He was a monster and he knew it. That small boy in Haven whose parents sprinted away was evidence enough. The fact that he was in Spargus had him standing on a cliff ready to jump. And if Damas took Joel's word and blindly accepted them and sent him to die, that would be the final shove and push him over the edge. He couldn't take anymore rejection.

"Well if he almost killed you then he must be ready for the final Wastelander tests, isn't that a rule?" Damas asked and smirked.

"He died in the obstacle course. He's not ready."

"So says the training exercise. Don't change regulations because you don't like this one boy."

"Do you want to be the one who has to explain why a newcomer is joining the ranks and not the son of any other Wastelander? You may want to, but I don't fancy it!"

Damas laughed. "Joel, this place is based on survival of the fittest. I'm sure that those boys' parents will be just fine. You're friends with some of them aren't you Jak?"

"They're friends with Daxter's mouth," Jak answered.

"Close enough. Have Kleiver get the tests ready for next week on Monday. That's plenty of time."

"Yes sir," Joel replied and turned away. "And if I had it my way Damas, that boy, as you call him, would be thrown out of the city. He is dangerous. End of story."

"I'll keep that in mind Joel."

Joel marched away grumbling under his breath.

"Come in here Jak, I want to talk," Damas said, ushering Jak in.

"I don't have a choice do I?" Jak asked and grimaced. Damas gave him a "no way in hell" look and Jak sighed. "Of course."

"Lighten up a little. I am supposed to be the bringer of bad news, not an eighteen year old boy."

"When you've gone through what I lived, you don't exactly have a sense of humor," Jak replied and crossed his arms.

"Why don't you tell me what you went through?"

"It's nothing to talk about," he said defensively, stepping away from Damas.

"You seem so sure that your life is terrible, it cannot be worse than mine. I lost all of my family."

_No you didn't! Will you please just really look at me? Look past my age and the scars. Look at the smile that never leaves my mouth, even though I want it to. Look at the tips of my ears, so distinctive and different from everyone else's. Look at me!_

Tears stung Jak's eyes.

"Jak, I understand that you are different. Hell you're hair is green and blond. But do not mistake my acceptance of you as standard. You are a special and very gifted person; don't let others make you think otherwise, including me. So tell me, what pushed you into joining the Underground?"

Jak swallowed the lump in his throat. "Prison."

Damas looked at him curiously. "And did that place break you?" 

"Only once Nyx died. After that I became Erol's worst enemy and greatest weapon."

"Nyx?"

"He was kind of like a father to me. He stuck up for me when I was weak and took care of me best he could in the prison. He told me once that he was an assassin."

"That Nyx! I remember him. Went to school with him ya know."

Jak blinked. "You did?"

"Yup. Took him here once. He didn't really like it. But because of his brashness I had met my wife. Best winter of my life."

"What was she like?" Jak asked. His mom?

"Bold, beautiful, merciful, loving, shy at times, and she had the most angelic voice when she sang. Moved people to tears when she really tried," Damas answered, a warm smile growing on his tired face. "She had gorgeous long blond hair and eyes like the ocean. Kind of like yours. Dark when mad or sad and light when happy."

_I look like my mom?_

Jak blinked. "Wait a minute, so the family portrait of you, your son, Antonieta, Cassie, Marissa, and Lorelie is of?"

Damas looked at him. "My sister and my nieces. They died in the fire. How do you know about that picture?"

"A friend showed it to me," Jak answered and looked away. _Lorelie had it wrong? What else was she wrong about?_

"Hmm, anyways, Danielle was the best thing that ever happened to me. I even told my mother that I didn't want to rule Haven, that I would rather have Spargus."

"How did she take it?" 

"Terribly, though she understood my reasons. Looking back, I wish I had fought harder to get Spargus, then maybe none of what happened would have happened. It's nice to think that if there was some way to change the past, I would, and I wouldn't think twice about it. Do you feel that way sometimes?"

"Something like that. Definitely my ninth birthday."

"What happened?"

Jak smirked. "It was the worst birthday ever. Daxter, Keira and I went to the beach and by the cliff there was a Wumpbee nest and us boys, being the hero type, decided to try and get rid of it. Bad idea. Little did we know, the Queen of the nest came out and had every Wumpbee attack us in defense. She won."

Damas chuckled. "I could have told you that."

"Nothing good came out of that birthday, except the kiss Keira gave me afterwards. That was good."

"I bet," Damas replied with a smile. "Do you like this Keira?"

"Yes sir. I love her laugh, her ingenuity, her playfulness, the way how grease is smudged on her face and she never knows it. I love everything about her, especially how ticklish she is. She almost didn't change at all over the years. Her mouth got bolder though."

"If I still had ties to Haven I would get her out here or you back there."

"You would?"

"Of course. You miss her, I can tell."

"Yes sir, very much. She's my light at the end of the tunnel," Jak replied and fingered the necklace.

"Danielle was mine," Damas whispered and sighed. "What was Joel talking about earlier?"

Jak's hand dropped. "It's hard to explain."

"Does it have anything to do with the purple spars that came out of your mouth when you woke up?"

"Kind of."

"Interesting. Seem said that there was a "tainted" presence around you, similar to that of Dark Eco. Is she right?"

"More or less. Look, it's just really hard to explain without going into detail and I'm not ready to talk about it," Jak said, backing away slowly.

"I don't need to know details. If you aren't ready to talk about it, then I'm probably not ready to hear about it. When you are ready to talk to me about it, just come and find me, I'm not that hard to find."

"Thank you sir. I need to get going though. I promised Maddie I'd be home early. She said something about a surprise."

"Than you'd better get going. Never leave a woman waiting, especially a pregnant one."

Jak nodded and left the room. Damas watched him leave with a smile, the haphazardly cut hair disappearing behind the closed door. "If it weren't for the wall he has around his past and reluctances to reveal it, he would make a good son. One a father would be proud of," he whispered and turned to the window, looking at the day sky. He spotted the star that shown throughout the day and night and sighed, "It's getting closer."

"Of course it is," Seem said annoyed, a frown creasing her face paint. "It's a ship built from Precursor knowledge and it's coming to our planet."

"That's not what I want to hear Seem."

"What do you honestly want to hear? The buttered up and confusing truth, or the blunt truth?" she asked angrily.

"I'd rather hear blunt."

"Your son is here, but because of your stubbornness, you won't be able to see it until it's too late. I'm amazed you haven't figured it out already."

"What?"

"I gave you the blunt truth. Now it's up to you to use it as you wish. I'm don't giving you hints. Your son didn't need anywhere near as many as you," she snapped and stormed out.

Damas blinked. His son was here? Under his nose? And he hadn't been able to discern it yet? What kind of father was he? Unable to tell who his own son was? It was pathetic. He sank to the ground. "I'm a terrible father. Danielle, I need you."

"Just hold his head up, put your hand behind his head. There ya go."

Damas did as Danielle said and held his son, looking at his bright blue eyes. "He looks just like you," he said and rubbed his thumb on the green hair that had grown there.

"He has your face," Danielle replied, brushing the small tuft of hair on her son's head. "Oop, look at his ears, they have a dip." Her smile made her glow as she gazed at her son.

"What are we going to name him?" 

"Damas, you know how I feel about Haven's traditions," she snapped and tears filmed over her eyes. "He hasn't made a sound. Don't you realize what that means?" 

"He is not a Mute," Damas denied and looked at his son, spit bubbles forming at his mouth. "He won't be sentenced to death."

"Then please, let's take him to the Monks. They'll help, you know this!"

"And what if they don't? What then?"

"Then I'll keep my son safe and away from anyone in Haven," she hissed and crossed her arms. "They won't take him away from me. Not while I'm alive."

"I understand that. He's my son too!"

"Then let's please go to Spargus and stay there."

"We can't. Our place is here."

"What if I don't like it here?"

"Then I guess Haven will fall."

"Alright, now you ready for your hair cut?" Maddie asked, holding a pair of scissors, closing and opening them quickly.

"I guess," Jak answered and blinked at Daxter who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Good!" she chirped and started to chop at the longer pieces, making it even.

Jak watched in a slow agony as he watched large chunks of hair continued to fall. He gulped and closed his eyes. A new identity. Something to look forward to. Right?

"Almost done," Maddie commented and ruffled his hair. "Just have to make some final adjustments."

"Sounds good," Jak said and opened his eyes, seeing a thumbs up from Daxter and a grin from Flynn.

"Alright... I'm just… about… done!" she exclaimed and tossed the scissors on the table. "Tell me what you two think."

"He looks very handsome, now Maddie let him see," Flynn said and pulled her away and into his arms.

Jak stood up and went to the mirror in the hall. He blinked at his reflection. For the first time really seeing the bags under his eyes, the lines at his brow from always glaring, and how absent his eyes looked. He touched his face, fingering his beard and running his hand through his newly cut hair. "No one in Haven would ever recognize me," he mumbled and smiled.

"Which is a good thing," Daxter said and jumped onto his shoulder. "Just think, we could wreck total chaos on them and they would never know!"

Jak smiled. "We could gain our title back too." 

"Oh yeah! Demolition Duo! We'd literally rock their world!" Daxter exclaimed and laughed. "Ba-boom!"

**Jak got a new haircut. ^.^ And if you go to my devARt you will see what it looks like with my drawing of Jak and Damas making Green Eco! XD The coloring made me really happy and the background isn't that bad either! =D**

**And in case if you were confused, the scene with Danielle, Damas and baby Jak is a flash back. I wrote it similar to how I did with Jak and Gol and I think there is another one with Jak and Danielle with her singing. **

**AND DAMAS KNOWS! He knows about the Day Star! And yeah… Jak is a bomb full of angsty teenage emotions! =] tis fun writing it, but it takes it's toll on me since I kind of get this slap happy reaction to it or I end up feeling like it… That's the only bad part… but whatevs. **

**And Jak and Joel do get on better terms later. He won't always hate Jak, but it'll be a much smoother road than Jak and Damas will have. That one is going to be an uphill battle for them and me! So much betrayal and teenage angst! Gah!**

**Anyways, I'll see you next week and review, cause I love getting those emails cause they make me all happy! ^.^**


	12. Chapter Eleven Gummy Grins

Chapter Eleven – Gummy Grins

"_For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" Romans 11:15_

Jak panted heavily at the finish line, looking up at Damas who looked down at him with a smile.

"And what a great end to _the_ hardest obstacle course designed by our own Kleiver and Joel!"

Daxter glared at the bird sitting next to Damas. "Slimy bird," he grumbled and crossed his arms in aggravation. "He wasn't even invited and he gets to stay in the Palace, with a harem! Not fair!"

Jak rolled his eyes, the roar of the crowd muting Daxter, almost.

Damas stood and raised his hand, the crowd silencing to a murmur. "You have done well, your use of your abilities is astounding and your execution I am sure was entertaining to us." The crowed laughed and Jak smirked. _Stupid moving steps. Never would've tripped._ "For your reward, I grant you the first piece of the Wastelander seal and once you collect all three you will have official citizenship."

"Doesn't seem so bad," Jak replied and shrugged the shoulder Daxter was on. "Does it?"

"Not really," Daxter mumbled and crossed his arms. "Stupid Pecker getting the good straw."

"I heard that!" Pecker yelled and pointed his wing at him.

"Good! You deserve some hate!" Daxter yelled back and stuck his tongue out at him.

"Stupid rat," Pecker growled and turned away.

Jak rolled his eyes and left the arena, heading back to the beach area.

"How did he even get that position? He's a talking bird! I'm a talking ottsel! What's so different between us?" Daxter complained as Jak made his way through the city. "It's not fair!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "Of course it's not fair. It's never fair, you know that."

"I know, but still! We do everything while bird seed for brains gets the royal treatment. Just once, ya know?"

"I know," Jak replied and sighed, seeing something odd at the other side of the beach cove. "What's that?"

Daxter peered in an exaggerated manner. "I have no idea what you're looking at," he said and settled back down on Jak's shoulder.

"I'm gonna go over there."

Jak moved over to that side of the beach quickly, recognizing the Precursor monks that seemed to be everywhere in Spargus and noticing an odd purple object. "What is that?" Daxter asked, finally seeing the commotion.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

He stalked over to the monks, a power surge that felt like Dark Eco went over him. "What is this?" he asked, crossing his arms with a nod to the machine.

One of the monks turned around, the face paint was recognizable to Jak. "It is none of your concern," the monk said, a firm glare on Jak, ruby eyes penetrating Jak's.

"Just curious," Jak replied with a grin.

"If you insist, this machine is from a mystical source. It is tainted by Dark Eco and myself and these monks are specialized in Dark and Light Eco. Now that you know, please leave, as you are a distraction."

"Lady monk, we have come to an obstacle," a younger monk said to the monk speaking to Jak.

"Why?" she snapped, glaring at the monk.

"It requires that which we do not have."

"Of course it does," she whispered and crease showed in her facepaint.

Jak looked at the machine. "Look monk-lady, we've had a tough day, we just want to relax on the beach in peace," Daxter piped up, a smart grin stretching his face.

"This machine is consumed in Dark Eco, I highly doubt you know anything about such powers," she growled and pointed an accusing finger at Jak.

Jak glared. "Don't you talk to me about dark powers. I just want to know what this is," Jak snapped and as he drew close to the machine, a reaction to his presence drew a snippet of Dark Eco from him. A painful shock went through his arm and he held it to him.

The monks gasped as a screen appeared. One went to touch it and the lead monk yelled, "Don't! We don't know what it wants!"

She pushed the younger monks out of the way. "Why don't you let me," Jak said and walked up to it, putting his hand on the screen.

His eyes glazed over as a series of speeches went through his head. Warning of a payment long over do and a war coming, whether they were ready or not. Jak gasped as the screen retracted and formed into a crystal.

"What is that?" Daxter asked as Jak grabbed the crystal.

"It is a Dark Eco crystal. Each crystal has untold powers lurking inside. When four Dark and Light Eco crystals are put together the owner is granted with unimaginable powers.

"Sounds like my kind of crystal," Jak mused with a smirk.

"It is not for the likes of you," the monk sneered and made a grab for the crystal.

"I don't think so. I've been around long enough to know that if you find it, you keep it," Jak replied and back away. "Besides, it might have a bad reaction to those inexperienced in the arts of Dark Eco. Isn't that right?"

"They are inexperienced. I, however, am not. So give me the crystal and you won't be banished."

"As if lady," Daxter snapped, glaring at her.

"Fine. Just know that you're sanity is on the line."

"I guess it's a good thing that I don't have any, isn't it?" Jak asked and walked away, leaving the monk in shock.

"Insolent boy," she growled.

Jak smirked and pocketed the crystal. "She doesn't even know the half of it."

"Ya got that right. And that monk was weird. I didn't know if she was a boy or not!" And I know girls, believe me."

"Not all women are built like Tess, Daxter. Look at half the women here."

"Yeah, but you can at least tell that they have boobs! That monk had none!" Jak rolled his eyes. "What? It's true! At least I'm not lying through my teeth."

"Yes, I guess that is something," Jak replied with a smirk, walking up the steps into Maddie and Flynn's home.

"Oh come on! Don't give me that! I never lie!" Daxter exclaimed as they went through the entry way. "I always tell the truth!"

"Like you are right now?"

"I simply exaggerate it to make it sound better. No harm in that."

"Yeah, totally."

Maddie screamed and the two froze, not knowing what to do. "Oh my God, I'm going to kill Flynn when he gets back!" she yelled and made it to the living room. "Oh good, Jak you're here."

"Why is it good that I'm here again?"

Maddie laughed and said, "Because you are going to take me to the infirmary." Her smile disappeared and glare came upon her face. "Right now."

"Why?"

"Don't you dare be an idiot right now. Now get moving," she ordered as her hand clenched around her round stomach.

"Oh God!"

"Yes! Now move it!" she screamed and pushed past him.

"It's all the way across the city!" 

"Do you have a better solution?"

"We could use a leaper lizard."

"Oh hell no. Not when this baby is ready to come out!"

"Yes ma'am."

Jak held her by the elbow and supported Maddie whenever she stopped and grunted out her scream. The received odd looks from some people and he hurried her further when he saw the looks and heard the whispers.

Upon reaching the infirmary, Damas stepped through a nearby door.

"Madeline?" he asked and Jak turned to him.

Maddie turned and gritted out a smile. "Oh, hello Damas."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking of ways to kill Flynn when he get's back for not being here and possible ways of castrating the man who sent him out into the desert a week before my due date."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do you need help getting to the infirmary?"

"Oh no, Jak's doing a fine job," she gritted out, tears glistening in her eyes.

"I insist," Damas replied opening the door. 

"Oh, well if you insist."

Damas escorted them to the nursery and a nurse took over. "You just stay out here Jak," Maddie said as a nurse gave him a cheeky grin.

Jak made a move to go forward and Damas grabbed his shoulder in an iron grip. "You do _not_ want to be in there," he warned and pulled him back.

"What? Why not?" Jak asked, confused.

"Just trust me with this. Had a couple of fingers broken when my son was born and that was just from my wife's grip."

Jak gave him a fearful look. His mother broke fingers?

"Don't worry. So long as you're not in there, you won't have to worry about any of your fingers. Flynn however has entirely different path ahead of him. When did Madeline go into labor?"

Daxter's mouth dropped. "She's in what?" he yelled and Damas raised a brow.

Jak grabbed Daxter's head, shutting his mouth. "We found out soon after the first test. We walked in and she started screaming. I don't know for how long though."

"That's fine. At least you brought her straight here. Home births are normal, but dangerous without the proper care."

Jak nodded, he remembered in Sandover when women who had been pregnant went into labor. Husbands were sent away and a midwife came in to assist with the birth. Other than that no other information was ever given out. It was private.

"Come, I want to show you something," Damas stated, motioning for Jak to follow.

Daxter looked at Jak curiously and Jak shrugged. He followed Damas through the hall and into a door going up a passage of stairs. "Where are we going?" Jak asked, a sense of anxiety overwhelmed him. Did Damas fight out? Was he going to question him? So many questions racked through his mind, most of them doubtful of what trust Damas had for Jak.

"You'll see," Damas answered and kept climbing the spiraling staircase that never seemed to end.

Daxter counted stairs while Damas snickered at the child like activity. "I almost forgot that you two are still kids," he noted and Daxter glared.

"We are not kids," the ottsel retorted and crossed his arms in defiance.

"You are to me. Boys your age should still be enjoying the trivialities of life, not fighting a war. And your stair count is off by a hundred."

"And how would you know? I thought it was childish," Daxter argued, sticking his tongue out.

"Because I counted them as a boy," Damas reasoned and smirked.

Jak chuckled and bit his lip as he smiled. "I think he's winning."

"He is not winning!"

Jak laughed a little bit more. Damas smiled and nodded. He liked Jak's laugh, it was rough, but warm; inviting him to join in even if he didn't know what he was originally laughing about. Similar to Danielle's. There were so many similarities between Jak and Danielle as if they were somehow related.

Damas opened the door at the top of the stairs and led them to the torch that burned all day and night at the top of the palace.

"Wow is that a big fire," Daxter said in awe.

"Hello your majesty," a man said and bowed. "What may I do for you today?"

"Your fine Jacob. Just showing Jak around the palace," Damas replied after returning the bow.

"What a lucky guy you are boy," Jacob said, giving a gummy grin. Jak blinked at the lack of teeth while Daxter's mouth dropped.

"Jacob here is a brother in law," Damas explained.

"Been running this flame here for going on sixty years. Best years of my life."

Damas gave a strained smile.

Jacob looked at Jak and pursed his lips in thought. "You boy, look very familiar. It's right on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't think of it," Jacob mused and Jak got a fearful look in his eyes. "I've seen that look before too!"

"I think you're scaring him Jacob," Damas replied and moved Jak over to the railing.

Jak glanced at Jacob, an uncle? When would the surprises end? He was older than Joel so it wasn't on his mother's brother. Jak blinked and looked over the edge. "Woah," Daxter and Jak both gasped at the view. They could see every part of the city from there and the men and women walking looked like ants.

"Best view in the palace," Damas boasted, putting his hands on his hips. "What do you boys think?"

"Woah," Daxter answered as his jaw dropped.

Damas smirked, almost proud of their reactions.

"By Jove, I think I figured it out!" Jacob exclaimed and the three looked at him. "Damas come here!"

Damas sighed and complied with Jacob. "Yes?"

"Look at that boy?" he whispered. "Who do you see?"

He looked at Jak who was looking at them curiously. He saw nothing different about the boy and shrugged. "I see a teenaged boy."

Jacob gasped. "How do you _not_ see it?"

"See what Jacob?" Damas demanded and glared at the man. "What am I honestly supposed to see? A troubled teenager? Because I see it. I'm not blind to that."

Jak turned away. _He still won't see it. Even a stranger can see._ Tears burned his eyes.

"Never mind. Afterall, I'm a crazy old man with nothing better to do than look after a fire," Jacob reasoned and Damas sighed.

Jak snuck away to the door and slipped through it, sprinting down the stairs. "What's going on?" Daxter asked and held on as Jak continued to run.

He stopped and panted. "Jak? Will you please explain what the hell just happened?" Daxter exclaimed and waved a paw in front of Jak's face. He jumped down and saw tears blurring Jak's eyes. "What is going on?" 

Jak blinked. "Daxter, I'm so confused."

"Come on, let's go somewhere quiet," Daxter said and climbed back up to Jak's shoulder.

Jak nodded and exited the stairwell, moving away from the infirmary and down a quiet hall. He opened a door that held stairs going up and to a balcony over the ocean.

"This is good," Daxter mentioned and Jak sat down. "So you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"Did I ever mention a Lorelie?"

"Not that I can remember. But I don't remember a lot of things."

"Doesn't matter now, but she showed me a climatic part of my past, showing me my father and what I thought to believe to be my mother and sisters. Just found out that I've been an only child and that my mother is still dead. Daddy is upstairs arguing with my toothless uncle."

"Wait… what? Your father is upstairs! Does he even know who you are?"

"No. And he's not going to unless he figures it out," Jak deadpanned.

"Jak, even I can see that this is eating you alive. Sooner or later you're going to have to tell him."

"And what happens if I do? What will he do when he finds out that his only son is a certifiable monster? What will happen to us when he kicks us out?"

Jak looked away. "I am not going to be thrown out like a piece of garbage again."

Daxter sighed. "I understand. But how did that old man see what Damas couldn't?"

"I don't know. I'm not really in the mood to face Damas. I cam close to spilling the beans twice already. I can't risk it."

Daxter was silent. He knew his parents, had a relationship with them. He almost felt guilty for having that relationship when Jak deserved it and didn't have it, always getting the short end of the stick in every situation.

"It's alright. We'll find a way around this," Daxter said, giving a hopeful smile. "I promise."

**OH MY GOODNESS THE TEENAGE EMOTIONS! THEY JUST KEEP ON COMING!**

**XD **

**Anywho, Jak has some crazy family. And Jacob will play another part… kind of, more of a confidant than anything later on. I'll get to that when it comes up. Which it hasn't yet… so yeah. ^.^ **

**And Maddie had her baby and you'll see what the baby's name will be in the next chapter. I thought it was cute when I thought of it and it still is, especially the reaction Jak has with the baby. It's so cute I could die! Not really… but still, it's the thought that counts! **

**And ugh! The next chapter makes me happy – cause I'm doing something different – but so mad because Jak makes me mad sometimes because he's being a stupid guy. XD Oh the paradox. **

**I'll stop now so then I don't ruin it completely, but yeah. I'm working on it, don't you worry one little bit. XD**

**See ya all next week!**


	13. Chapter Twelve Future

Chapter Twelve – Future

"_Even if we believe that it makes no difference to the Lord whether we do these things, still we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves; for we must bear the burden of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others – of those who feel these things are wrong." Romans 15:1-2_

* * *

Keira looked at herself in the mirror, her shirt pulled up over her stomach. Gently poking her growing belly, she sighed. "This kinda sucks," she mumbled and pouted.

She even noticed how odd her habits were, spending more and more time in the kitchen instead of her natural habitat of the garage. She didn't know what to do. She didn't have a real purpose in the garage anymore except for her own little projects.

"I feel so useless!" she exclaimed and tugged her shirt back down over her slightly bulged stomach.

She stormed out of her room and down the hall to the main office of the HQ. She wasn't just going to sit there like a helpless child.

Upon reaching the door she heard Ashelin screaming.

"What else do you want me to do Veger? I've sent out my troops! I can't fight this war with boys! This is _all_ you're fault! He had done nothing wrong!"

Veger chuckled.

"And maybe this is just coincidence, but why is it that as soon as Keira Hagai is announced pregnant not a week before Jak is banished?

"That is simply a coincidence. Why are you throwing such a fit is beyond me," Veger replied, buffing his nails on his shirt collar.

Ashelin glared at him. "You have special Intel. One that is ten steps ahead of everyone! Whatever game your playing is not for the safety of this city!"

"Who said I was playing a game? In case if you haven't realized, this is no simulation where we can rewind and win, this is life and death. You have your limited resources and I have my back account." Veger stood up and crossed the room towards Ashelin. "Maybe you don't get it. Without me, you have no funding. That means no new guns, vehicles, or gadgets and gizmos. I suggest – for the better of the city – that you obey me, especially if you want anything."

Keira watched as Veger left with his nose stuck up in the air, his stride powerful. She glared at the door he walked out of and jumped as Ashelin started to curse at the man.

"Where does he get off thinking that he's the better man?" Ashelin screamed and kicked a chair across the room. "Bastard!"

"I can help," Keira said stepped into the room.

"And how much of that conversation did you hear?"

"Enough to know that we need help. Mainly vehicle and weapon support. Get me enough junked zoomers and I can make you anything. I just need basic items."

Ashelin looked at her. "What do you want in return?"

"I want to raise this baby in peace. Which means no war. It's easy," Keira answered and smirked.

"And how are we supposed to win a war with boys? Boys that only know what a gun is because of video games and think that war is simulated?"

"Bring in veterans."

"They are either dead or fighting."

"Underground."

"Enlisted."

"Jak?"

"You know damn well that I can't do anything to bring him back. He has to find his own way."

Keira looked away.

"He is the only way we'll win though. If only there were more heroes. Then we'd be in business."

"You have no idea," Keira mumbled.

* * *

"Oh yeah!" Jak exclaimed as he slid the leaper lizard to a stop.

"Ha!" Daxter laughed. "We kicked you scaly tails!" The other four monks who raced against Jak came up slowly with the head hung low. "So much for best riders in the city!"

The lady-monk Seem rolled her eyes. "Fine hero. The crystal is yours. The two types Light and Dark when combined form great energies," she said as she held up the Light Eco crystal. Jak snatched it out of her hand. "Be careful with them! And when you die, do be kind enough to give them."

Jak scoffed, "I don't plan on it." The crystal was warm, giving off subtle vibrations and a slight heat. "Why are you so obsessed with death anyways?"

"Because of that!" she pointed at an unusually large star. "And I'm still missing my monks."

"And what is that?" Jak asked and put the crystal in his bag.

"It is the Day Star, and everyday it grows brighter. Whether we are ready or not, this planet's final trial is coming."

Jak looked at her and Daxter laughed. "Yup, sure thing monk-lady. Come on Jak, let's go. We've got better things to do than listen to this cray-cray."

Jak pulled the lizard away and it walked in the direction he put it in, avoiding people walking alongside. "Like what? Baby-sit?" Jak asked.

Jak felt so unclean when holding Maddie and Flynn's baby. Knowing what he's done and what he no doubted will do, he felt dirty just being by the littler girl.

"Yeah, that does sound kinda crappy doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but since we've nothing better to do. And it's almost dinner."

"Oh the sweet, delicious, glorious food that Maddie makes! Oh I would kill if I had to miss a meal!"

"Good to know," Jak mumbled and slid off the lizard, tying it to the public lizard ring.

He walked up to the house and braced himself for the almost constant sound and smell of baby.

"Oh, shush you silly girl," Maddie crooned, bouncing the crying baby in her arms. "Hi Jak, here, take Dani. I have to finish making dinner and I think Flynn is burning it."

"Don't let him burn it!" Daxter yelled and Jak took the crying infant.

"Don't let her head fall back. She's trying to do everything in advance."

Jak nodded, wanting to kill Flynn for burning dinner. The baby stopped crying and stared up at him. "I'd rather you look at me like I was a monster," he whispered.

"I don't think you'd like that look either," Daxter added. "Hey, she stopped crying."

Daxter's tail dangled near her face and she raised her hand, gently touching the soft fur. A smile growing on her face she grabbed it in a tiny fist and Daxter jumped. "Gah! She's got a grip!"

Jak chuckled.

"It's not funny!"

"Yes it is. You just don't think so."

Daxter stuck his tongue out and Jak shook his head, going into the living room. He sat down and sat Dani up, making sure to hold her head and support her back.

She took hold of his fingers and started to gnaw on them. Jak blinked and sighed with a confused look.

Daxter slid off of Jak's shoulder and sat in front of the baby. She blinked at him with a shocked look. "Ya know, I think she's quietest whenever she's sleeping or your are holding her," Daxter commented and poked her cheek.

She pouted and her lip quivered. Jak glared at Daxter. "You are making her cry." He stood up and Daxter slid off. Jak held her close and mumbled the words to the Flut-Flut Lullaby. "_Red, Yellow… Blue. Going off in a blur._"

Soft whimpers came from her and Jak stiffened. "Shh. He's just a mean ol' ottsel. Didn't mean any harm," he whispered and bounced her gently.

Daxter smirked, he scampered into the kitchen and pointed into the living room. "Cutest thing you'll ever see," he whispered and Maddie and Flynn walked to the entry way to see.

Tears glazed over Maddie's eyes as Flynn smiled. "Come on," she said, "dinner is ready. Wash up and Flynn will take Danielle."

Jak nodded and carefully handed her over to Flynn. He still thought it odd that they had named their daughter Danielle, but it wasn't really any of his concern. "Don't ya think it's odd that they named her after your mom?" Daxter asked as Jak washed his hands.

"A little, but they don't know I'm Damas' son, so it's not really any of my business. Danielle is a perfectly normal and generic name."

"Yeah, totally," Daxter scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Kinda wish I had younger siblings, only not in this time period."

"Sooner or later Daxter there won't be war. And when that day comes I'll find an island and live there for the rest of my days."

"If we don't die first. Remember, we're always on the front line."

"Yeah, but no one else has super powers."

"Good point!" Daxter exclaimed. "Alright, time to eat! Go!"

Jak sighed and went to the kitchen where the small round table had suddenly fill with food.

"Oh it looks liked heaven came down as food tonight!" Daxter laughed and took his normal spot.

Jak sat and a ghost of a smile came upon his mouth. These people willingly took him in, knowing hew as nothing but bad news and treated him like he was one of their own. They were more of a family to him than anyone else he knew. He sighed as he remembered Keira and suddenly the necklace he never took off felt like a noose.

He was making a new life here, one that Haven couldn't mess up, no matter how hard they tried. But he had family in Haven too, no matter how hard he tried to forget.

_Can I really leave them all in my past? Can I break my promise to Keira? Can I start a new life here?_

Jak forced the food down and over the lump in his throat. He _could_ start a new life here. One that didn't have any or as much betrayal as he had before. He _could_ and he _would_.

"So Jak," Flynn started and smirked, "notice any young ladies around that have caught your eye?"

Jak chuckled. "As a matter of fact, I was wondering if you could help me with that."

"That won't be a problem," he replied.

Daxter's mouth dropped.

* * *

Jak followed Flynn to a different sector of the city. "What's over here?" he asked, his senses going into overdrive.

"This sector my young friend is where the female sex does their training."

"Training for what?"

"You'll see," Flynn answered and opened a door to a rundown building. "Go on in."

Jak did so and his eye sight adjusted to the darkness easily. He could hear the soft sound of running feet and the steady breathing of people waiting. His eyes flashed to black and he could see everyone moving about, positioning themselves in the rafters.

He blinked. "Um, Flynn?" he asked.

"Go!" a woman ordered and suddenly the light kicked on, blinding him.

"Ah!" he growled and his eyes went back to normal as he was pinned to the ground. He pushed the force off of himself and jumped up, only to see he was surrounded by women, more precisely teenaged girls.

He spun in a circle and took in the armor they were wearing. He blinked as he saw that they wore thin black fabric that wrapped around their chests tightly and dark colored shorts that hugged their skin.

"He's the new guy girls," one of them said and sauntered up. "Let's see what he's made of."

_It's just sparring. They aren't going to hurt me. There's no reason to lose control._ Jak took a deep breath in. He was on edge and put into a spar was not helping him keep control of his powers.

"He's kinda cute," one of them whispered.

The leader went forward and threw a punch, only to have her fist caught. She smirked at him, daring green eyes sparkled playfully as she twisted her foot to trip him. She pulled her foot back and pushed him, only to end up on the bottom.

"What the?"

"Don't try to trick the devil sweetheart," he growled and she saw that his eyes were solid black.

"Holy shit!"

She scrambled away and the other girls went a head and started to fight back, throwing dirty punches and pulling out tricks.

Jak stayed standing and kept deflecting their hits, not once letting them get any breathing room to land any real hits. The majority of them backed away with a scowl, unused to loosing so badly.

The leader continued to spar. "What's your name?" she asked, throwing another punch.

He raised a brow as he dodged it. "Jak. Yours?"

"Veronica. Vicky for short." She threw a left hook and caught the tip of his chin.

She smirked as he rubbed it, a small grin twisted his face slightly. "You have a cute smile," she commented and the tips of his ears turned pink. She got behind him, leaping onto his back. "And a cute butt," she whispered and he sputtered in embarrassment.

"Times up!" the woman from before screamed and Veronica got off of his back.

"Meet me at the beach in two hours, kay?" she whispered and smiled. "Nearest the market."

"Got it," he answered and he felt like his ears were on fire. He watched as she walked away, her dark hair twisted into a bun. She turned to wave as the other girls giggled around her. He backed away and left the building.

"Wow…" he whispered and Flynn stood there smiling.

"So, how'd it go?" he asked, slapping his hand onto Jak's back.

"Not bad. Meeting one of them at the beach later."

"Looks like my work here is done. Girls here like a little competition. Have fun."

"Yeah," Jak said, fingering the spot where the necklace would have been. He sighed and followed Flynn home.

"So, what girl asked you?"

"Veronica. She had the dark hair."

"Bring her home sometime. Maddie'll want to meet her. And a word of advice, don't bring Daxter."

"I didn't plan on it."

"Good. He talks too much for his own good and he might scare her away."

"Or she'll beat him up."

"That too."

Jak smiled and sighed. _This is a good thing. Why do I feel like I'm betraying my friends then?_

* * *

Jak walked down the shore of the beach, barefoot, sighing as the salty water ran over his feet. He caught sight of Veronica and made his way over to her. She smiled at him and waved.

"Hey," she said and crossed her arms. "Nice to see you again." She blinked at the hugging arms around her leg. "This is my little brother Marc. Say 'hi'."

He buried his head against her leg. "He's not normally this shy," she mumbled. "Hey, com on, say hello."

Marc mumbled hello and carefully gazed up at Jak.

"Where's Cray?" Veronica asked, looking around.

"Who's Cray?" Jak questioned and looked at Marc.

"My pet muse," the little boy answered. "He's brown and like to run off to play hide and seek."

"Sound like a muse I used to know. You wanna know a trick to keep Cray next to you all the time?"

"You'd be my hero," Veronica replied and smiled.

Jak smiled and said, "Take a bowl of milk and put bunberries in it, and be sure to keep bunberries on hand all the time."

"Why bunberries?" she asked.

"It's addicting to them and the juice inside makes them less energetic."

"I think you just saved Marc and me from multiple groundings. Thanks."

"No problem. It's how I always caught the one where I was from."

"Where's that?"

"Well, Haven, but it's a ways away from Haven."

Veronica shrugged. "Come on. I have the entire afternoon planned, swimming is involved."

Jak nodded and they made their way to the water as Marc ran ahead splashing vigorously. Jak smiled, remembering the hot summer days of Sandover, relaxing under the shade of a tree and the water crashing nearby.

"So how'd you learn to fight like that?"

Jak blinked and answered, "By fighting with the Underground against Baron Praxis."

"And did you win?"

"Yeah, after I killed the Metal Head leader."

"What?"

"It's a long story," Jak answered and looked out over the water.

"Another time then?"

"Yeah," Jak said and looked back at her, noticing small details. Her hair was relatively long, curling slightly, her skin was dark from the sun and yet there was still a light dusting of freckles.

"Come on," she said and pulled off her shirt, revealing that she was wearing that same wrap from earlier. She ran into the water and scooped up her brother, giving him a kiss.

Jak followed and smiled as they continued into a splashing war. Teenagers just being teenagers having fun at the beach,

By the time they realized what time it was, they were soaked. The two older ones sat down in the sand as marc still played with some other kids.

"He's a good kid," Jak commented and Veronica nodded. "A little shy though."

"I think any kid would be if they knew that they were adopted."

"What?"

"Marc is my adopted brother. His parents were banished from Haven and they died. Orphans don't normally last long in Spargus, but my parents wanted another, so they took him in. He knows that he's not really my brother, but he is, no matter what he thinks.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't know. Like how I know absolutely nothing about you besides that you were banished from Haven and lasted three days in the desert. I know enough, but nothing other than that."

Jak nodded. _That's all anybody needs to know about me._

* * *

**HEY LOOK! IT'S AN UPDATE! Sorry my computer fritzed out and it didn't want me to even open word for the longest time and just now I've been able to do things on it without it freaking out. So UPDATE!**

**Jak is being a teenaged boy and IT'S SO ANNOYING! I knew I was going to do this, but I didn't think it would make me so annoyed by his teenaged ways! I swear if he knew that Keira was pregnant he wouldn't be doing any of this! I swear it!**

**Other than Jak being a stupid teenager I got to use a term made up by Kresley Cole. *le sigh* If you don't know what it is, it's "cray-cray", it's a term that Regin – one of her characters – uses to describe Nix the Ever-Knowing. Nix is a prophet of types and she sees the past, present and future so she's kind of this general in an army and doesn't really have enough lucid time in her life to actually be of use. XD IT'S GREAT!**

**And Veronica does show up some more. So if you hate her, don't worry I do too, but it's a pivotal part of Jak realizing what he could have and what he already has. Don't worry, it won't last too long. Just more than likely half way through it… maybe more. She isn't going to exactly like Jak leaving to go to Haven and that will be when he realizes some things. I can't say! It'll ruin it! And I haven't even gotten to that part yet! T.T**

**I'm going to stop before I get too far ahead of myself. I'll see you guys next week.**


	14. Chapter Thirteen Home

Chapter Thirteen – Home

"_You bless those who obey you Lord; your love protects them like a shield." Psalm 5:12_

-..-

"Come here boy," Joel said, motioning for Jak to come closer. "I have something for you to do."

"And what does that entail exactly?" Jak asked as he walked up.

"How do you feel about hunting down some Metal Heads?" 

"Where to?" 

"That's a good lad. There's a vehicle in the garage waiting for you. And these are some pretty big ones so watch it."

"Aw, you do care," Daxter commented and feigned surprise.

"I was talking about the car."

"Of course you were."

Jak smirked and started over to the garage entrance. "And when you get back I want to have a conversation with you, alone."

"Yes sir," Jak replied and continued on.

"What do you think that's for?" Daxter asked.

"No idea."

Joel smiled. He was going to get the truth out of this boy. Especially why he looked so much like his daughter.

Jak came up to a car and grinned. "These babies have wheels."

"Yeah? So?"

"It's gonna be fun. That's what," Jak said a smile growing as his eyes scanned the vehicle.

"What you kids doing here?" a large man asked, storming up to them.

Jak turned and glared. "Joel sent us here. We have a job."

"Like shit you do."

Jak rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest as the man radioed Joel.

"Kleiver, I sent them to go kill Metal Heads, let them use the Sand Shark. It was the weapons they need and the durability. And they have full permission to use that vehicle from now on."

Jak smirked at Joel's voice. That man had so many other things to do than watch over them and even after the accident he was still looking out for them. _Probably a paternal instinct._

"Alright, now before you boys ruin a perfectly good vehicle, there are a few things you need to know."

"Don't kill the clutch?" Jak asked, a playful smirk on his face. "I know how to drive."

"Those wheel-less things you city boys call cars? That's not driving. That's floating in the air. This is driving. I guess I'll find out how you do when you get back, won't I?"

"Sure will," Jak said and climbed into the car. The seat hugged him and the racing seat belt tightened automatically.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Kleiver yelled as Jak started the engine. The roar of it gave Jak shivers and the garage door opened, sand and dust coming in angrily. He revved the engine and put it into drive.

He pulled his goggles down and floored it, causing Kleiver to jump away. "Hell yeah!" Daxter screamed as Jak tore through the sand dunes. Jak cackled as he pulled the e-brake and spun to the right quickly, then flooring it again to go forward.

A GPS sat on the wheel and Jak saw five blinking red dots. He drove to the first one and slowed the vehicle to a stop. "Where are the Metal Heads?" he asked over the engine. Daxter shrugged, looking around.

"Um, Jak… I think I found them."

Jak looked behind them and saw a huge behemoth of a Metal head. A grin grew on his face. "This is gonna be fun," he growled and activated the gun turrets. He revved the engine and the Metal Head roared, realizing it wasn't alone.

It sprinted toward them and Jak sped away, turning hard to get behind it. Once behind, his thumbs pressed the red buttons on each handle of the wheel, bullets streaming out of the guns connected to the car. After riding on it's tail for a few minutes pouring bullets into its hide it finally fell in a lump.

More roars echoed and Jak grinned. "Hang on Dax! It's gonna be a long day!"

"Don't need to tell me twice," Daxter grumbled, hanging on for dear life to Jak's shoulder plate. "Remind me next time to hide in your pack!"

Jak laughed as he went on to the next Metal Head that came out of hiding.

-..-

Jak pulled the vehicle to a stop next to the large mass of Metal Head that they had just killed. He spotted a communicator and walked up to it after climbing out of the car. "What the…"

"Metal Head commander report!" a voice said and a misshapen head appeared, revealing it was a holographic communicator. "What's happening? If you lost that Dark Eco crystal and you're still alive, I'll kill you myself." Jak motioned for Daxter to go look for it as he moved closer, causing sand to go through the image. "What the?" The face turned to Jak and a look of shock crossed its image. "Oh no… not you."

Jak glared. That voice, it was so familiar. He stomped his foot onto the hologram and broke the camera. "I don't like the sound of your voice," he growled and kicked the communicator into a rock, destroying it.

"Ha," Daxter laughed. "You sure kicked sand in his face!" He handed Jak the crystal. "Oh yeah, that was good."

Jak blinked. "That face look familiar. You don't think…"

"It's no one we know. We've been in the sun too long. Come on Big Foot, let's go. This desert gives me the creeps."

Jak looked at the dismantled communicator and shrugged, going back to the car. "Joel's probably waiting for us anyways," Jak mumbled and Daxter nodded, getting into the pack. He started the vehicle and sped away, following the map back to Spargus.

The door opened as he neared it and he slowed down to park the Sand Shark as he had taken it. "Kleiver won't notice anything," Daxter chimed and high-fived Jak.

"What did you two do to my car?" Kleiver yelled, storming up to them.

"Nothing!" Jak yelled and backed away. "Don't trust me? Then check it out!" He stormed back into the city, his eyes flashing back and forth from blue to black, fangs growing.

He went to the arena where he always found Joel.

"Where are we going? Cause I thought Joel wanted to talk to you alone."

Jak stopped and took a deep breath. "Right. Just hide out somewhere before I meet up with him. He should be here. He always is."

"Okay. Don't let that fat lard get to you. He's just another Krew," Daxter commented.

"He didn't get to me."

"Oh so that explains why you have fangs."

Jak rolled his eyes.

"I'm kidding, okay? Just don't eat Joel."

"I know. I just don't get why I'm losing control so much. It's driving me nuts!"

"Do you think it's those crystals?"

"No. It was worse before the crystals."

Daxter frowned and jumped off of Jak's shoulder. "I'll be waiting right out here. If you're not done by dinner I'll be back at home eating. And that's in an hour."

"Got it. Wish me luck?"

"You always have it."

Jak smiled hopefully and went inside, hearing Joel yelling out orders.

He walked up to the railing and saw that it was a new group of boys. Blinking he wondered what happened to the group he was in. He hadn't talked to any of them since the sparring fight he had had with Joel.

"Well look who decided to show up?" a familiar voice questioned and Jak turned. "If it isn't the Sage wanna-be. Still using those Eco powers to advance yourself unfairly?"

Jak glared. "I gained my advancement fairly," he growled and the boys from the group surrounded him.

"How could you when you failed the obstacle course?" he questioned and got in Jak's face. "You're nothing but a cheater." He pushed Jak into the railing.

"Stop."

"Or what?"

Jak snarled and his fangs grew instantly, his hands clenching into fists. "I said stop."

"I want to see you make me."

"Why is he sparking purple?" another whispered and Jak glared deeper, his eyes turning black.

"Come on Eco Freak! Stop me!"

Jak flinched and his hands flashed out, grabbing the boy by the throat. "I am not an Eco Freak!" he snarled and he could feel the horns protruding.

He let go of the boy who fell back. "You're a monster!"

"What's going on up there?" Joel yelled and Jak blinked.

"He's a monster!" the boy cried.

"Who?" Joel yelled angrily.

"Jak!"

Jak closed his eyes in defeat and sunk to his knees, burying his face in his hands. _I'm not a monster. I won't be called a monster any more._

The boys disappeared and Jak panted heavily. "I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster. I'm not," he whispered repeatedly and he rocked on the ground.

"Jak?"

"I'm not a monster!" Jak cried out and jumped back, his eyes black and an anguished look on his face.

Joel sat in front of him, a confused look creasing his aged face. He watched as Jak panted, fangs protruding from his gums. Jak's breathing hitched as if he was going to start crying.

Jak clenched his eyes shut and huddled into a ball. "I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster."

"Stop it!" Joel yelled, yet Jak continued mumbling that sentence. "Get up!"

Jak's shoulders heaved and Joel stared. Not once had he seen this teen before him show such defeat before. Joel sighed and knelt before Jak. "You know I haven't had to consol a teen since my daughter right? And that was a trip because she was a raging ball of hormones. Just like you," Joel said and put a hand on Jak's shoulder.

"Where's your friend? The little orange rat?" Joel asked noticing that the talking rat was no where near by.

"Probably at home," Jak mumbled and looked up at Joel. "They're going to tell everyone, saying that I'm a monster. Then everyone is going to want me gone. Then I'll be banished again just because of what I am."

"Damas won't banish you. He likes you too much. Now come on. The arena is no place to talk. Too many ears," Joel said and stood up, holding out a hand to Jak. "Come on. We're going to my place."

Jak stared at the offered hand. He grabbed it and stood up. _I hate losing control like that._

"There's a good lad. Now follow me," Joel said and motioned for Jak to follow. "How'd the mission go?"

"Killed the five Metal Heads. The leader of the pack had a Dark Eco crystal and had communication with someone," Jak answered and looked at his feet as he walked alongside Joel. "The voice was familiar, but the face was different."

"Huh, well it answered my suspicion of the Metal Heads having some type of leader."

"How did you know they didn't have a leader?"

"Because the population dropped and we have some contact with Haven, just not as much as Damas would like."

"He can have as much as he wants once the war over there is over."

"There's a war?" Joel asked sarcastically.

"The Precursors have damned them to hell."

"Doesn't surprise me," Joel replied. "Those boys were just looking for a fight. They're just mad because they're not special anymore. But you are Jak, and they are mad because of that."

"Why does everyone call me special when half the time I feel like some type of burden to someone?"

"Sometimes we are blind to what gifts we have." Joel looked down at the boy. "You have an amazing talent for Eco, and they are jealous of you."

"They have no reason to be jealous. It's more of a curse than a gift," Jak said and looked at his hands. "I can create Green, Yellow, Blue and Red Eco, but the one I can't control tries to eat me from the inside out, clawing for a way out, grasping for any control over me. I fight back the urge to lose control all day every day." He threw his hands to his sides. "It's no gift. It's a prison without walls."

Joel looked at Jak sadly. "And what kind of relationship with prison do you have?"

"I want to bring the man who put he me in there back to life simply to torture him, slowly, as he did me."

"And will that ease your revenge?"

Jak was silent. Erol was dead, so was Praxis. He couldn't exact his revenge even if he had the choice to. His mind was too clouded to even make a coherent though now, what damage would he cause if he had the chance?

"I didn't think it would. We're here," Joel said and opened the door.

"Isn't that Old Man Jenkin's place?" Jak asked, pointing at the house next to Joel's.

"Yup. He's harmless. I don't know what Flynn told you, but he's just an old man who's sick of teenagers. It's all he is," Joel answered and smiled. "Come on in. Susan has dinner more than likely ready."

"Who?"

"My wife."

"Oh."

They walked in and Jak sighed at the smell. It had the same smell as Mai-Ann's house. He closed his eyes in bliss at the aroma the food had made.

"Susan, I'm home and we have a guest."

"We do?" she asked as they walked into kitchen. "We do," she answered and looked at Jak. "Have I seen you before? You look really familiar."

"Maybe just on the street ma'am," Jak answered and looked around.

"No, it's from when you were little," she replied tapping her chin. "I know it."

"He was brought to Spargus a few months a go dear," Joel said and gave her kiss.

"Darn. I though I knew ya," she said with a smile. "Anyways, have a seat. Dinner will be done in about an hour."

"Come with me Jak, I want to talk with you in the living room," Joel said and motioned for Jak to follow.

They sat down and Joel sat across from him, leaning forward on his knees. "I have something very important to talk to you about."

"What?" Jak asked, his eyes moving over Joel's face quickly.

"When you first woke up, Damas asked me a very serious question and I went with him to the infirmary to answer it for him, but when we left he didn't want to hear my answer. He was dead set on the conclusion that there was no way you were his son." Jak gulped. "So I let it go. But considering that he's my son in law and he's as stubborn as a bull, I need to know the truth, if only to help me sleep at night."

Jak looked away staring at a crack in the wall.

"My wife was right to recognize you. Take away thirteen years and you look just like my grandson. So tell me the truth, are you Damas' son? Because damn it all, if you are you need to tell him."

"How can you recognize what he can't? How can Jacob at the torch see it?" Jak asked, tears blurring his vision. "It's not fair!"

"I knew it," Joel said and started to laugh. "I knew you were his son! I knew you were my grandson!"

"Who's whose grandson?" Susan asked, coming into the living room. "What's going on out here?"

"Susan," Joel started, "you may want to sit down." She sat next to Jak. "This boy that you recognized is our grandson."

She blinked and looked at Jak, grabbing his chin to turn his head toward her, touching the side of his face gently with the tips of her fingers she wiped away a tear.

She smiled and pulled Jak into a hug. "Oh thank the Precursors," she whispered and rubbed his back. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Jak closed his eyes and cried silently, burying his face into her neck.

"It's okay," she whispered, rubbing the back of his head. "Your home now."

Was this acceptance? Was he welcome? Was he always to have this kind of relationship when he came?

"If only Danielle was still here," Susan said and sniffed.

"We have to tell Damas," Joel said and looked at Susan getting a nod.

"No," Jak gasped and sat up looking at Joel.

"No?" Joel asked, glaring at Jak. "You do realize that Damas has been looking for you for the past few years right? He has a right!"

"It would be the right thing to do," Susan said, "but if Jak isn't ready then there is no way Damas could be. We have to time it right."

Joel huffed and crossed his arms leaning back into his chair.

"I'm not saying your wrong Joel, but look at him, he's a mess. It's just not the right time. If anything, Damas needs to see it on his own. Or a slap in the face, either one would be fine."

"That's true," Joel replied.

"You're staying with us tonight Jak," Susan said and smiled at him. "I want to get to know my grand baby other than what the grape vine has said. Joel will call the people you're staying with so they don't worry."

Jak nodded and Susan stood up. "I'm so glad you are finally home Jak. It means so much."

-..-

**Risen Angel: Okay… I feel so bad for Jak and now I wanna write cute scenes with Danielle and her parents with Jak. *sigh* This story is never going to go anywhere. **


	15. Chapter Fourteen Just Like Old Times

Chapter Fourteen – Just Like Old Times

"_Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me." Psalm 7:1-2_

-.-

They inched forward at a crawling pace through the sewers, twitching in fear. The one to the back panted heavily and moved his gun back and forth.

"Oh my god, oh my god. We're gonna die!" he whispered in a squeaky voice, jumping at the echo of falling drops of water. "Why did Torn send us here? Seriously?"

The older man with the jagged scar going down the side of his face growled. "If you seriously say "seriously" one more time," he hissed turning to the boy, "I'm going to shove your gun so far down your throat you'll shit pellets. Got it?"

"Seriously?" he squeaked.

"Boy," the man growled and glared at him through the visor. "Shut up!"

The echo of a roar came to them and they froze. "Now you listen to me," the man whispered. "Forget what Torn said about sticking together. We know that this tunnel is clear. Do you remember how to get back?" The boy nodded vigorously. "Good. If anything goes wrong and I yell out my mayday, I want you to run back. I will be dead by the time you got to me if you came. Understood?" The boy nodded. "I need vocal."

"Yes," he yelped and then gulped silently. "But what do I say?"

"You tell Torn that I told you to stay behind to report back. Now sit tight and keep an eye out."

The older man walked forward in a crouch, turning off all tracking devices and communication but the one between him and the boy. Torn would be pissed because his orders would not have been followed, he was going to have to deal. It was down right foolish to believe that word would get back if the groups went together. "Torn should know better," he grumbled, stopping as he came to a fork in the tunnels.

He had absolutely no idea where either of the tunnels went to. No one had ever reported back to give a map of the area. Grumbling he switched to the echo-map that had been upgraded from regular GPS maps. "Stupid technology," he cursed as the map loaded, using his voice to create it.

Focusing his gaze of the map he realized that the tunnel to the right ended in an apparent dead end while the left continued looping closer and closer to New Haven.

He looked around the corner, flashing an Eco powered torch down the right, seeing a man hole above the wall where a ladder was protruding.

"Good to know," he whispered and went to the left. "This sucks balls."

He followed the tunnel, depending on the night vision to see and the heat detector for enemies. As he followed the tunnel it seemed as if there were no Metal Heads at all, or KG Robots, although he couldn't really tell since the sectors were all confused now.

Turning the comm. volume up, he still heard the boy's scared breathing. "You doing okay kid?"

"Yes, just hearing sewer noises sir."

"Good, just stay calm."

He turned it back to mute as he went on, suddenly hearing more and more roaring as he continued. Frowning he updated the echo-map, sitting back against the wall.

As the map did its thing, the roaring got louder, almost like a chant. The curiosity got the better of him and he went to the large entry way, seeing a huge containment area filled with Metal Heads of all breeds and sizes.

"Oh dear sweet Precursors," he gasped and back away, turning the volume up enough for just him to hear. "Kid, answer me!"

All he heard was the bittersweet sound of static.

"Shit! Kid!"

More static.

"Damn," he growled and went back the way he came, making sure to stay low and as quiet as possible.

Reaching the form again he went to the dead end and grabbed hold of the ladder. Turning on the communicator he growled as it loaded. "Of all things they couldn't have updated," he hissed and sighed as it glowed.

He switched to Torn's signal. "Torn!" he whispered and waited. "Answer me dammit!"

"What? I'm fighting out here!"

"There's an entire army down here of Metal Heads!"

"What?"

"You heard me," he growled. "The kid you sent me with is dead far as I know and I'm standing under a man hole which could be in any territory."

"Go up it. If the kid is dead then that exit point has been compromised."

The man sighed. "Great way to spend my day," he grumbled. "I get paired up with a rookie, walking in knee deep shit and I might die. Great day."

"Shut it Sig. You did worse for Krew."

"Yeah I did, but I got paid better!"

He turned the comm. off and climbed up the ladder, breathing a sigh of relief when the man hole lifted up in the Slums.

"Maybe now I can find a way back to Spargus," he sighed and pulled the helmet off. "Never thought I'd be this glad to be in the Slums."

-..-

Jak took a deep breath. Danielle had finally gone to sleep though she put up a fight. Maddie was out with Flynn shopping for food and had left Jak with a very cranky baby.

Susan had offered a room for him and she had given him a communicator, telling him that it was foolish going around with no means of communication. He smiled at the memory. It was nice having someone genuinely care. He declined her offer of staying with them and continued doing odd jobs for Joel that took him out into the desert.

He had herded Leaper Lizards, raced sand storms as he found treasures buried in the sand, and trained harder as his next test was soon. He was personally dreading this test because he was going to have to kill and he generally used Dark Eco for that.

"I can't lose control," he mumbled and looked at him hands. Ever since he had taken those Eco crystals strange voices had echoed in his mind, all talking about a war between brothers. His head throbbed at the knowledge and his body longed to change and become a monster.

He looked down at Danielle. This tiny baby had put her trust in him, didn't even care that he was a monster even though he knew she could feel it. Or she could at least tell that he was tainted.

Jak walked out of the room and looked at the clock. His test was this week and it seemed as if the time went by too quick. He needed it to stay away, if only to better control his powers. He couldn't risk the entire city finding out about his powers.

"There is no way around it," he whispered, clenching his hands into fists.

-..-

He looked down at the raging boy who was using invisible daggers of some kind to kill the captured Marauders. "Joel do you know what weapon he's using?" Damas asked, leaning forward, his brown dreadlocks swinging forward.

Joel raised a brow. "I'm not exactly sure, knives maybe?"

"I suppose we'll find out, won't we?"

Jak spun as the throat of another Marauder was sliced open by his claws. The fight seemed to last forever and yet more and more of these creatures poured out from the cage. And as his claws sliced through each Marauder he lost a little bit of control each time. It was only a matter of time.

He panted as he gauged his surroundings. Bodies lay around him in pools of blood. That had to be it. It had to be.

He released a breath as the crowd grew a collective gasp.

Huge arms encircled his neck and he instinctively clawed at them, letting his powers change his entire person. His claws dug into the arms and he threw his head back with the horns that grew. The creature yelled in anger and threw Jak across the arena.

"There is the monster I smelt!" the Marauder growled and drew out a huge sword.

Jak snarled and Dark Eco sparked off of him in angry spurts.

"I remember stories of man having powers! Destroys all in path! Powers that change world!" the Marauder continued. "You house monster in city! Kill it!"

"I'm not a monster!" Jak roared and charged at the large man.

Joel smiled. "It's about time."

The Marauder deflected a swipe of Jak's claws and tossed him across the arena once more.

"Listen you people. He will burn your world. A lost and forgotten child of Gol and Maia!"

Jak's eyes widened.

Joel glared and crossed his arms. "Come on Jak," he urged and tapped his foot angrily.

"Show them demon child!" the monster of a man roared and threw his sword into the ground. "Kill me with your powers!"

Jak snarled and large bolts of Eco energy erupted out of his hands.

"Come and get me whore child!"

Joel looked at Jak and took a quick glance at Damas. The king sat still with a hard glare etched into his face.

Jak clenched his fists shut. He narrowed his glare on the Marauder. The anger inside erupted and he sprinted at his enemy, releasing the Eco in his hands. A tornado of Dark Eco swirled around the Marauder as Jak tossed in a ball of Yellow Eco, causing explosions as the tornado ripped the man apart.

"Burn in hell," Jak roared and threw another bomb of Dark Eco at the mangled mess that was a towering Marauder. "You don't know shit!" He continued to throw bomb after bomb of Dark Eco.

"Enough!" Damas bellowed and Jak looked up at him.

"Joel! Get that boy trained to control his powers." Damas ordered and Joel nodded once. "You, learn to control your emotions! You passed since you're alive. Now leave."

Joel left the private viewing box to intercept Jak. The blond pushed past him and spun in surprise, his eyes still black. "Jak what happened down there?" Joel asked.

"I lost control. What else is there to explain?"

"Did it have anything to do with what the Marauder said? Because they are a bunch of myth believing fools. Never believe a word they say."

"He got the better of me. He snuck up on me. I reacted," Jak exclaimed and back away. "I have nothing else to say."

"You just need to be trained."

"What I need is for these powers to be GONE!" Jak screamed and stormed away.

Joel heard Damas come behind him. "What was that about?" he asked and Joel sighed.

"An angry teenager who hates his own life. Damas that boy was tortured, he needs acceptance and these tests are not helping. He is a child."

"You sure didn't feel that way when he almost killed you."

"I've learned – "

"What Joel? What have you learned exactly?"

"Nothing you're willing to listen to," Joel answered and started to leave. "Let Jak know what you're willing to hear what he has to say."

-..-

"Hey Jak, slow down!" Daxter cried as he scampered down the street after the storming teen. "Where ya going? Oh come on, I'm not that fast!"

Jak stopped a split second as Daxter jumped onto his shoulder.

"Soooooo… What happened that's got you all "RAWR!"? Don't leave me hanging!"

"I'll tell you in a little bit."

"Oh… Well where we going?" Daxter asked, leaning on Jak's head, winking at a group of girls they walked by.

"To find Seem's missing monks."

"What? She doesn't even know where they are! How on this Precursor damned world are we supposed to find them?"

"We can start at the temple."

"And they're gonna welcome us how?"

"They won't."

"Meaning?"

"We won't be announcing ourselves. What they don't know won't exactly hurt them, ya know?"

"Oh! So it's kind of like when we took the fishing boat to Misty Island! Only… less Dark Eco pools." Daxter chuckled. "Cool."

Jak smirked. "Now we just gotta take that jumping car from Kleiver without him noticing."

"Dude this is just like Misty Island! Ballin'!"

Jak rolled his eyes as he walked into the garage. He looked for the fat man. "Good," he whispered and Daxter snickered. "Keep an eye out, yeah?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Sh!"

"Opps," Daxter whispered as Jak went over to the Dune Hopper.

Jak jumped into it and smirked at the keys hanging in the ignition. "Sweet," He mouthed and Daxter climbed into his leg pouch. Starting the engine the door opened automatically. "Hang on tight Dax."

Opening the map quickly, he found the Precursor Monk Temple and selected it as he revved the engine. Flooring out of the garage Jak caught a glimpse of Kleiver coming out of door. With a snarky grin Jak saw him charging at them throwing his fists in the air and the garage door slammed shut before any more sand and dust entered the garage.

"That was hella fun!" Jak exclaimed and he could hear Daxter laughing in agreement.

Racing through the dune Jak shot grenades at Marauders that started to attack and cackled as their cars caught fire leading to large explosions that left pillars of smoke to be caught by the wind and sand.

Using the hydraulics the propelled the buggy into the air, Jak "hopped" from island to island that led to the Monk Temple. Keeping a fast speed up the path to the entrance, Jak skidded to a stop, causing a huge cloud of sand and dust.

"We're here Dax," he said as he climbed out of the buggy.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, popping half of his body out of the pack. "That was awesome! I wanna go again!"

"We're gonna have to. Those islands are the only way here. I wonder how the monks travel."

"Probably by those lizard things! Did you hear how Seem talked to it? No way is that a normal relationship!"

Jak rolled his eyes as he walked through the entry way noticing that monstrous Precursor Robots lined the walls and each one was noticeably different from each other. "Better hope that these don't wake up."

"Why not?" Daxter asked and looked up at the robots. "They look harmless!"

"They are covered in a thin layer of sand stone. One command and those robots will be all over us."

"Oh… Good point. Let's get away from them yeah?"

"Definitely!"

Jak spun in a circle to find a way out of the hall filled with Precursor Robots.

"Well… we can go up," he said, pointing at a stairway that went up and around the inside of the hall. "Or we can go in."

"In!" Daxter yelled.

"Why?"

"I'm not too fond of heights okay. First the Baron's flag, then the explosion in the fortress, the explosion that – literally – almost killed us at the dig site and I'm sure there's more!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He started for the entrance to go in and a Precursor Guardian activated, setting off a spike blockade. "I'm thinking we're going to have to go up Dax," Jak stated and crossed his arms. "I won't let you fall and you can stay in the pack if you want."

"As long as we don't leave the ground, you hear?"

"Got it Dax." _I'm promising nothing! _Jak grinned.

He remembered hearing monks mumbling about how the volcano ate everyone who went into it, although it lay dormant. He had a slight inkling that that was where Seem's monks had disappeared to.

-..-

**OH BOY! We're almost there! Okay, not really exactly, but we're getting there. Next chapter is a bit wonky because I still have to work out the flying scene at the top of the temple, but also the scene at the Precursor dude. It's a bit rough and how I have it now it's all like NO! WE DON'T LIKE YOU! WE'RE GONNA MAKE YOUR LIFE DIFFICULT! **

**Story of my life really. **

**Whatevs. See you guys at the next update!**


	16. Chapter Fifteen Renewed Flame

Chapter Fifteen – Renewed Flame

"_But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."" Ephesians 5:13-14_

* * *

Seem walked slowly to the main entrance of the Temple. The monk connection in Haven was coming and she was sent to and great him. She had never seen him before and had figured she would be the only one to converse with him.

Coming up to the arch she stopped short. "Why is the blockade released?" she asked aloud, looking at the still feral Precursor Guardian. "Baroosh," she whispered and the Guardian dropped down to her. "Show me what has upset you."

Her command was gentle and finally the being settled down, as if frightened by what it saw the Guardian released its review cam. Playing back the last few minutes Seem regretted spending so much time on her face paint for the man coming. The glare produced at seeing Jak and 'Orange Lightning' trying to gain entrance was sure to have smudged the paint.

"Of all people? Oh this is going to the head monk when I'm through here."

She released the Guardian and the barricade sunk back into the walls. Walking through she saw the dust of a large transporter landing.

"This is going to be a long day," she mumbled, seeing the transporter slowly land in the main hall entrance.

Seem folded her hands as if in prayer as the transporter door unfolded and a tall sickly looking man proceeded out. She raised her head to look at the man, seeing dark spots on his bald head from disease, and also taking note in how he held himself. His prideful step was forced, as if he had to remind himself that he was a powerful man. "Interesting," she whispered and put a small smile on as a greeting.

"I see that you head monk once more has sent an unknown monk – a child to me – to answer my questions. So," he paused and stuck his crooked nose into the air, "what is your name?"

"It seems to me that you do not seem to know what I seem to be. For if you were truly a part of the Precursor Monks you would notice a difference in face paint fool," she growled and glared up at the man. "I don't have time for fools, not when the world is coming to an end."

The man glared. "Your name."

"Seems to me that my name seems to be Seem. Now follow me if you want your answers."

She loathed this man. He was no monk. Even the youngest of monks knew how to distinguish face paint.

"Your word play is annoying."

"It comes from being a monk," she hissed and spun her heel, her steps muted, but his hard shoes crunched along the sand and rocks. "Even the boy has better manners than you."

"What boy?"

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. And what should I call you besides fool?"

"My name is Count Veger, not fool. Correct your tongue or I shall do so for you."

"I'm shaking in my boots," she dead-panned, rolling her ruby eyes. Her path continued straight forward through the halls. "And since you have my entire day to waste, what is it that you want?"

Veger sighed. "Tell me what you know of the Day Star."

Seem blinked and pursed her lips. "What do you know so far?"

"That it comes to destroy the world that we know and that there is a weapon in the core of our world that can destroy it."

"Then not much," she commented. "The Day Star is a ship, carrying Dark Makers – Precursors contaminated with Dark Eco. Our world is not the first to be sentenced to death."

"And to conquer Dark Eco you need Light Eco, correct?"

"Something of that accord."

"Gol and Maia? Isn't that how?"

"Why don't you ask the boys that did it? Tis not my story to tell."

"Where can I find Light Eco."

Seem stopped and turned to Veger. "Whatever game you are playing needs to stop. Light Eco is not a toy and that is final. It is rare and it cannot be used like the rest of the Ecos."

"And how would you know anything about Light Eco?"

"It is my professional study! As is the Day Star and Dark Eco. Eco of all kinds are a very dangerous weapon and it is fools who waste them and the powers they possess! It's why the world had Sages! Yet even now Sages are extinct and it's why monks are now here."

Seem turned and glared at the ground.

"Then tell me what you know."

"Why should I when you are not a monk? An infant knows the difference in face paint. How can a grown man not? I have no interesting in sharing the knowledge that we have to an intruder."

"Your tongue will be mine."

"Maybe in another time, but not today," Seem snarled.

* * *

Jak pulled himself up to the last ledge at the top of the temple, spotting a glider ready to go. He smirked. "Looks like Seem's monks used these gliders to reach the mountain. I bet that as long as we hit those accelerator rings, we're golden!"

"Wait… what?" Daxter exclaimed and popped his head out of the back pack. "I thought I specifically said that we were not going to leave the ground! Tall buildings are okay. WE ARE NOT FLYING!"

"I didn't promise anything Dax,"" Jak replied and Daxter's jaw dropped. He jumped out of the pack and crossed his arms walking away. "Come on Dax. Seem said that they lost an expedition of monks on that volcano. This is the only way there with these gliders."

"Uh, yeah, "lost" being the operative word. If they vanished, don't ya think that was a sign? Hello!"

"Yes, but you've got me! You won't die!"

"Oh no. You see any feathers here? It looks a lot like fur to me! No feathers, no flying for this ottsel! There is no freaking way you are going to get me on some Precursor Monk crap! Do you remember half the crap we tried out in Sandover? Absolutely zippo chance!" Daxter stalked to the ledge. "Forget it! Finito! Fat chance. Nope. Not gonna happen. Nu uh!" Jak rolled his eyes and reached for Daxter. "Never!"

Jak grabbed Daxter's tail and sprinted to the glider, jumping off the temple. The glider plummeted until it caught a current. "!" Daxter screamed. "I haaaaate yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

Jak smirked and flew through the first accelerator ring, feeling the glider rise and coasted to the next one. Daxter continued to scream throughout the flight and the scream grew louder each time they started to lose altitude. Jak chuckled at the fact that Daxter's bravado was way down in the toilet right then.

He saw a tunnel entrance and aimed the glider to enter it. As they drew closer he realized that there was no way they were going to make it with the glider still intact. Aiming the device so that they themselves would make it through, they sped through it. The wings snapping off at the impact with the rocks and using what velocity was left the two made it through the narrow tunnel.

Jak released the glider and jumped to a beam to continue leaping and swinging from beam to beam till he was on the ground. "Come on Dax, let's go find another way out," Jak called out nonchalantly as he walked away.

"Right behind ya, Jak! Far behind ya," Daxter called out.

Jak looked up and sighed. "Just drop down."

Daxter chuckled and snapped. "Drop down? What part of "getting the Baron's flag" do you not remember? I was sure I lost all function down there!"

"And wouldn't that be a shame. Just let go. I'll catch you," Jak replied.

"Really?"

"More than likely."

Daxter glared down at him and dropped. He screamed and continued to scream even though Jak had caught him. "Daxter, stop screaming."

Jak rolled his eyes as his friend realized that he was not an ottsel pancake on the ground, but safe on Jak's shoulder plate."

"Oh, well. I _knew_ you would catch me."

"Course you did."

Daxter humphed at Jak's retort and sidled in silence as Jak made his way through the maze of the volcano.

"Where do you think they would have gone to look for another of those satellites?" Daxter asked and looked toward the sky.

Jak looked around. He could _feel_ the satellite nearby and it worried him that it was because he was so accustomed to Dark Eco.

"I think it's up there," he answered, pointing at a cliff.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Alrighty then. Let's get to it then."

* * *

"I swear Jak if that stupid thing isn't here I'm going to** freak**!" Daxter yelled as Jak started to go up a ladder to the cliff.

"Daxter, no way is this going to be the wrong place. It's too big of a coincidence for this ladder to be here."

"True, but still!"

Jak pulled himself up over the ladder and Daxter gasped at the dried, decaying monk.

"Woah! Wonder what did that to him." Daxter exclaimed and shot to the dead monk. "Looks like it didn't agree with him."

Jak blinked as Daxter went to go and grab the object in the monk's hands. A flare from his gut told him that it was an extremely high concentrated source of complete Dark Eco, worse than the Dark Eco Crystal. "Don't touch it Daxter! Who knows what more Dark Eco could do to you?"

Daxter looked at Jak and gave him an "are you serious" look. "Jak, would you look at me? I'm short, I'm hairy and I itch in strange places," his paw went to scratch his crotch in evidence. "I couldn't do worse. Relax. I know what I'm doing."

Jak rolled his eyes as he watched.

Daxter grabbed the item and gagged. "Oh gross! Cold, clammy dead hands! Oh I can't look!" He had a firm hold on the item and pulled grunting for effect. "Wow does this sucker have a grip!"

The monk's hands crumbled at the force and Daxter went flying back as the concentrated Dark Eco flew into the air.

"Watch out Daxter!" Jak yelled as he jumped forward to catch the source before it crashed onto Daxter. At his touch however he disappeared.

Daxter jumped up and looked around. "Jak! Where are ya buddy?"

Jak blinked as he looked at his hands, or where his hands should have been. Where were his hands? He dropped the object he caught and it shattered, and with it his visibility came back.

"God, Jak! Don't do that to me again! You gave me a heart attack!" Daxter exclaimed, panting. "What was that anyways?"

"I – I don't know. Some kind of Dark Power, invisibility or something."

"Yeah, well… Cut it out! If you had moved that fast a long time ago, I'd still be wearing pants!" Daxter turned to leave. "You know its times like these that I wonder if more Dark Eco would change me back. Cause I miss pants. But you wanna know what I really miss, soft underpants, you know, how they lift and cradle." Daxter sighed in content as he imagined wearing the perfect pair of underwear. Jak blinked at him and Daxter rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't understand. Come on, I want back on real ground."

"Got it Dax," Jak mumbled and looked back at the monk. Did the Dark Eco kill him? Or was it the power that lingered inside it? Whatever it was, it wasn't much of a danger anymore, especially since it was destroyed.

* * *

Seem growled under her breath as she led Count Veger into the inner sanctum, where the three Precursor robots stood in a triangle. Each robot gave special knowledge to those who needed answers and each were irreplaceable. And if this man made one more remark on how "inhumane" this temple was because of the technological advances that Haven had, she was going to scream.

In anger she had taken him to the head monk, demanding to know what real part he actually played in coming here. She got all the answers she needed when she discovered that Veger was considered to be the "chosen one" to go into the catacombs and destroy the Dark Makers.

And inside she wanted so badly to retort and proclaim who really was. Seem knew who. She had known who when she saw the unconscious boy by the king's side. The truth was so much better tasting to her than anything Veger tried feeding her. She was still having a hard time that such a tainted boy would have that power, but she was learning and anything was better than this pompous fake of a man. She would rather have dealt with Jak at the entrance than having to entertain this man.

And he was crossing so many lines, especially about the facts of the Precursors and what truly lay at the core of their world. There was a reason why things were a mystery!

"Seem, why is it that you are not answering my questions like the other monks that I have met have? You are being incredibly stubborn about giving me the answers that I need."

Seem took a deep breath to calm herself. "It is not my fault that you ill gotten pride has muted my answers to you. Perhaps it is because you are asking the wrong woman the wrong questions."

She stepped out onto the balcony viewing the Precursor Robots.

"I want no excuses! I was told that you would answer my questions! Now make it so!"

"I have more important things to worry about than your questions! The Day Star approaches! You know exactly what it is bringing!"

"Unfortunate, yes, a small side effect. But trust me when I say this. Once I have full access to the catacombs you will meet you makers," Veger sneered and walked away leaving Seem with her jaw dropped.

"Not in this lifetime, fool," she hissed and looked around. She could have sworn that she had seen a blur of orange.

* * *

"What does Veger want in the catacombs anyway?" Jak asked and looked at Daxter.

"No idea. Hey, maybe one of those goober eyed Precursor thingies will know something," he replied, pointing to the humming giant Precursor Robot.

Jak walked up to it slowly and the eyes exploded with light. He jumped in surprise and Daxter jumped down.

"Greetings, great warrior! Your return brings us great hope! This planet's future is at a critical juncture. The Dark Ones have found your world again, and fate hangs in the balance where the past and the future collide. We have watched from afar for many years for a new hero to rise from the ashes."

"Do you have any idea what he just said? Speak-a-da-normal language, okay?" Daxter announced and crossed his arms. "I think he was talking about me. I mean… has it really been that long since I saved the world!"

"You will need all the power you can muster great one."

"I can handle it," Daxter proclaimed.

"I was talking to the tall one, shorty!"

"Hey!"

"There will be a time when the two powers Light and Dark will combine and alter the very fate of the world. Step into the light hero and receive enlightenment."

Jak looked up at the beam of Light Eco. Daxter's jaw dropped as he saw Jak hovering in the air. "Okay, first you turn invisible and now your floating? COME ON!"

Jak opened his eyes, an eerie white light making them glow. "Dax, the Dark Eco it feels like it's… gone!"

"Go hero and let the world see your renewed flame!

* * *

**Hey guys! Guess what this is? IT'S AN UPDATE!**

**Sorry for the super spread out update, I blame myself kind of because this chapter was being really annoying to write. I couldn't exactly figure out how to write the funny parts with Daxter. *sigh* It was terrible. But I also blame college for overwhelming me to the tenth degree. **

**So... Much... HOMEWORK!**

**Anywho, I'll try and make the next update soon. The next chapter and the following were relatively easy to write... it was just this one for some reason.**


	17. Chapter Sixteen Come Back

**Oh my goodness! EmbyrEye, your review completely made my day! You have no idea! I was hoping for some feedback now that I've gotten back into the swing – kind of – of updating this story! It means so much to see it! Trust me I feel the same about Veger. He makes me really mad and I can see Seem being upset as well about how ignorant he is. I'm glad you liked the glider scene that was one of the few scenes where I had the most trouble. Daxter's lines just didn't want to come out right and I'm glad you liked it! **

**And a word of advice to you for next year. Right now, while you are still in high school, make sure you ask your teachers exactly what you will need to know for college (I'm not sure if you live in the US, so university also for those out of America :D). Make sure you know how to do MLA and APA citations, because depending on what field you go into you will more than likely need both. I'm just warning you now. And that goes for all of you highschoolers that are reading this! ASK EVERYTHING! None of my teachers really prepared me for college and I feel like I'm waist deep in homework. **

**It sucks seeing stories getting deleted. I was thinking of doing that to one of my very first fanfics, but I know a lot of people have read it and reviewed it. And it sucks. Badly. I don't want it up anymore, but I know people like it – or they are being nice about it… XD And I will update more often. I'm trying to get chapters written, but I'm definitely going to be stopping for a long time until summer or a long break. Sorry.**

Chapter Sixteen – Come Back

"_All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life. On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations. Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll – are they not in your record?" Psalm 56:5-8_

-.-

Jak sat on the beach watching the sun set. He was so confused and nothing was making any sense to him. Veronica wanted him to go out with her and some of her friends, but he needed to think about things. What was Veger planning and why did he have such a close connection to the monks? It was making any sense.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed an annoyed growl. "What are you doing Veger?" he asked aloud, glaring at the horizon. He needed answers and he couldn't get those answers from here, not in Spargus.

"Never thought I'd see you thinking so hard Chili Pepper."

Jak gasped and looked over at the large man behind him. "Sig!" he exclaimed. "Wait… Did you get banished too?"

Sig laughed and shook his head. "No boy. I'm a Wastelander. This is home."

"What?"

"You think Wastelanders belonged to Krew? We're Damas' boys! Not that rotting lard.

"I know that now, but I thought you were only from Haven," Jak reasoned and stood up.

"And how could I have ever lived in just Haven when I hate the place?"

"True, I can see where you're coming from. I'm not exactly looking forward to finding a way back there."

Sig chuckled. "Oh I have a feeling your going to want to go back real soon."

"Why?"

"Keira's cooking up a surprise."

Jak blinked. "I'm so confused," he mumbled and Sig laughed a throaty laugh.

"Don't you worry, you'll find out soon as you get to Haven kid. And if you don't know now you are in for one _big_ surprise."

"You are really confusing me Sig."

"Good, then maybe you'll get this clueless. I have a way for you to get back into Haven City."

"What?"

"Mar's Eco Mines. It has a passage that leads right into and out of Haven. And all you have to do is go through a channel of catacombs."

"The catacombs?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"Do you have any idea what Veger might be up to? I overheard him and Seem having a conversation a few days ago at the temple. Something about a weapon that can destroy that star!" Jak pointed at the star that grew larger and larger each day. "Seem told me something about that star coming to destroy our world."

Sig sighed and shook his head. "Sorry Chili Pepper. Last we heard from Veger in the Port was to attack the Metal Heads and when that happened hell broke loose. Torn had sent dozens of small groups into the sewers to try and find a way back into New Haven, but you for sure know what that place is like."

"The sewers? Oh yeah. There's no way a small group could survive down there when that place has always been over flowing with Metal Heads."

"That's what I told Torn! Look, Jak they're fighting a losing war and you have big responsibilities there whether you want to accept them or not."

"I'm sick of saving the world Sig! I want to be a normal teenager for at least a little while."

"And what have you been doing the past few months? Having a jolly party?"

"Finding out everything about who I am!" Jak answered angrily. "Tell me if you can make this connection... I killed Gol and Maia, I killed the Metal Head leader and I'm the heir to the throne of Haven City and a son of Mar. Who am I?" 

Sig's eyes widened as the connection clicked in his mind.

"Thank you! Do you think if I said it like that he would realize who I am?" Jak asked defeated and sat down in the sand. "I just want him to finally see me."

"Jak, you need to answer me truthfully. Who all knows besides me?"

"Joel – my grandfather; Jacob – my crazy uncle; and Daxter, but he knows that this is private business and he won't tell a soul."

"Except his reflection."

"Maybe," Jak replied and lifted a hand full of sand. "I see him almost everyday and even if I was wearing a neon sign that told the world: "I'm Damas' son!" he still wouldn't see me."

Sig bent down. "You need to tell him."

"I can't Sig."

"Well why not? You can tell me to my face."

"Because you will still accept me. If I tell him and he rejects me, I couldn't live with myself," he answered and grabbed another handful of sand, watching the grains of sand seep through his fingers. "I'd fall apart."

"Jak, he deserves to know. He sent me to Haven to look for you! Damas would be damned proud to call you son!"

"Then why can't he see who I am?" Jak asked and looked up at Sig. "Joel said if you take thirteen or so years off I look like that. I just don't get it."

"Tell him. Or have someone he trusts tell him."

"Like you?"

"I'm already riding on thin ice Jak. He'll think you made me say that. Joel might be a better bet."

"Joel has more important things to worry about than this."

"He is your grandfather. You are important. And if not Joel than Susan, or even Jacob. Damas is always up there with him."

"I guess."

"Don't let this idea of rejection destroy you. If you would just let him know and let him decide for his own you will find out that he doesn't reject easily."

"And how many people have brought take lost princes to Damas? How many people has he rejected? How can he honestly believe me and the life I've lived when he still thinks his son is still in Haven in hiding as a five year old? Tell me Sig, how will he react when his finds out that his only heir – his own blood – is nothing but a tormented monster that hates the world and no one gives a damn if I die?"

Jak wrapped his arms around his legs and turned his head away from Sig. Tears stung his eyes and the orange glow from the sun made everything too happy for him.

"I wish none of this ever happened," he whispered and Sig sighed deeply.

"You're wrong about Damas," he replied and stood up. "Don't forget about what I said about the Eco Mines." Sig left.

Jak stiffened and stared hard at the waves crashing into the shore. An ebb and flow of despair was something he was used to and still it killed him.

"I wish Praxis was never born, that I was still with my family, that I wasn't a lost prince. I wish I had a family," he whispered and lifted his head to look out at the horizon. It was all the Precursors fault. They made him Mute. They killed his mother. They destroyed his life. They turned him into nothing but a tool. Anger surged through him as these thoughts when through his tormented mind.

Jak stood up and looked up at the star. "Why? Why are you coming now? Why are your fucking brothers making me save the world again and again? I hate it. I hate them!"

The star pulsed and Jak glared at it. "Go away!" he screamed at it and a firm hand grabbed his shoulder.

Jak spun and stared at Joel.

"What's going on?" Joel asked and looked at the Day Star for a second.

"I want to be normal," Jak seethed and his eyes slowly faded to black.

"Come with me, I want to tell you a story."

Jak blinked and stumbled as Joel pulled him along to the isolated end of the beach toward the cliffs.

"Do you remember anything about your mother?" Joel asked and looked down at Jak.

"I remember singing."

Joel gave a small chuckle. "At least you remembered something beautiful. That was her gift, let me tell you that, not fighting much against my wishes."

Jak sat down at the edge of the cliff face. "I know she was beautiful and that I look just like her."

Joel smiled and nodded. "That you do, which I'm sure that's why Damas first came up with the idea that you were his son. Did you know that you get your Eco powers from Danielle as well?"

"What?"

"Damas is good, but Dani was extraordinary. The monks thought she would be a Sage, thank goodness she wasn't. You wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Sages can have families though. Samos does."

"Back then, yes, but monks wanted her to be 'sanctified'. I'm glad she focused more on singing now that I look back. Danielle wanted to hide you from the world when they came to the conclusion that you were Mute, especially from Veger. That vile man knew you would have amazing Eco powers and when he found out you were Mute he wanted you even more.

"Danielle came here with you when you were almost one. She was so happy to be home and to share you with her family and friends. And you were a very happy baby. Susan spoiled you like none other.

"It was when Danielle was talking to Damas on a communicator that we knew that there was something wrong. She _knew_ you would be safe here in Spargus, away from Veger, and behind strong walls. But Damas was raised a Haven boy, he didn't completely trust Spargus with his only family."

"He sure does now," Jak mumbled.

"Exactly. If Danielle had forced him to come he would have realized and found a way to rule both cities. But he didn't come and when you were two Haven was attacked and he lost Danielle and you in one night." Joel shook his head. "I wish Dani was more forceful toward Damas like she was when he courted her. That was entertaining."

"I don't understand what you're telling me."

Joel smiled. "I calmed you down didn't I?"

Jak blinked.

Joel laughed. "I figured you would have wanted to hear something good about your mother. You had a very normal life for two years if that means anything to you."

"But I want normal now. I sick of being a freak!"

"You are not a freak! You are not a monster. You are a boy. You are my grandson!"

Jak looked away.

"It won't matter what Damas thinks if you tell him. Jak, you are special and powerful. And if Damas does reject your truth it won't matter, I will accept you, as will Susan. Damas will come to realize that you are who you say you are and he will accept you. Don't doubt it Jak."

"Will you still accept me if I go back to Haven?"

"Why would you go back?"

"Sig told me that they're losing the war. I don't want to go back to fight for them. I need answers. Veger is planning something that has to do with the Catacombs and Haven has the answers."

"Ask the monks."

"They won't tell me anything. And Keira has something going on that Sig hinted at. I need to know what's going on over there. And if Keira is in danger I want her here."

Joel nodded.

"Like I said before, it doesn't matter what you do or say, I will continually accept you."

"Thank you."

-.-

Keira woke with a start, feeling the baby inside her move. "Woah," she whispered grabbing hold of her growing stomach. "You got some kick in there."

Her eyes watered as she was reminded of Jak. "Like your father."

She sighed as she got up from the bed, to go to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror she rubbed her stomach. "I'd rather hold you in my arms to protect you than to have to hide to protect you. So many people want you dead and you've done nothing."

Keira shuddered as a sob wracked through her. "I want Jak back."

Her communicator beeped in the other room. She blinked and went over to the table.

"Hello?"

"Keira, I have a tag on Jak!"

"What are you talking about Ashelin?"

"He has a communicator now. We can get contact. I'm going to the Wasteland today to meet up with him. He doesn't know it yet, but he will. This is good news!"

Keira panted, her hand rested on her belly. "I don't know what to say."

"What do you mean?"

"Can you give him something for me?"

"I don't see why not."

"His JET-Board. I'll slip the Seal of Mar in it and tell him I need him. I need him badly."

"Yes. Of course."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem. Should I tell him about you being – "

"NO!"

"Okay. I won't. I'll be over soon to get the JET-Board."

"Thank you."

Keira sat down and dropped the communicator disconnecting with Ashelin. "Jak, please come back to me. I need you so badly. I need you to fight off the curses they've been throwing at me."

The baby shifted again and she ran a hand through her hair as she sobbed. "I – I can't do this alone!"

Tears streamed down her cheeks as the thought of more people – especially Veger – came to her and attacked again with words. They wanted to kill her baby, simply because Jak was the father. She had argued that the baby was harmless, that there was nothing dangerous about it. But they didn't want to hear that.

"They never listen!" she screamed and sobbed harder, holding her stomach.

She leaned over to the bedside and grabbed the bronze medallion Jak had left. Sniffing she ran her hands over the indentations remembering Jak giving it to her after the Palace was destroyed.

"Please Jak, remember who you are. Come back to me and be my hero. Screw Haven, take me in your arms and steal me away from here."

Keira stood up and grabbed a pen and paper. She wrote a note on it and folded it up, tying it to the Seal of Mar.

Squeezing her eyes shut to stop the tears she trudged over to her closet to grab the dormant JET-Board. It hummed at her touch and she smiled. "Don't worry, you'll be used soon."

She carried it to the table and opened the small compartment and slid the Seal of Mar with the note into it.

"Please Jak."

There was a harsh knocking at the door to the apartment she was in and she jumped. Walking over to the door she saw Ashelin through the winder. "Come on in Ashelin," she said opening the door.

"You have it ready?" she asked sliding into the small apartment.

"Yes," Keira answered and went over to the table, grabbing the JET-Board.

Ashelin took it and smiled at Keira. "Don't worry Keira, Jak will come back. He just needs a reminder of what he lost."

"Thank you. I'm not going to the garage today, just so you know. I can't take any attacks today."

"I thought they stopped?"

"No. They got worse. They want to kill my baby. I won't let them."

Ashelin nodded.

"I will make sure that they stop. A guard will be by your side at all times. And as soon as Jak comes back, the attacks with stop all together."

"Or get worse."

"They won't. Don't think that way."

Keira looked up at Ashelin, tears blurring her vision. "Make Jak come back. Or I will go to the desert and drag him here."

"I'll make sure he gets the message," Ashelin smiled and left.

-.-

**Alright so… Jak's language made me feel really uncomfortable. I know he's angry and considering how he reacts to his anger it's understandable… but still. And I had to ask my mom about how Keira is reacting to the attacks, because I want that to be portrayed correctly. And considering that my mom has had me and my sister come out of her I'm pretty sure she would know how Keira is feeling. lol**

**And I'm thinking that this might not be as long as I'm thinking! When I first planned this I was going to have Act One be between ten to fifteen chapters and we're almost done with Act One and it's only chapter 16! I'm thinking two or three more and then we're done with this act and then it's ACT TWO! It's so exciting!**

**And I know exactly what chapter is the start of Act Three as well. Oh how I love getting bunny trails. XD**


	18. Chapter Seventeen Back To Haven

**EmbyrEye: Honey, I love you. Don't take that wrong at all. In order of your questions... One: You'll find out in chapter eighteen :3 It makes sense when you read it, I promise. Two: ALL IN GOOD TIME! We don't want one of the most climatic scenes before the right time! It'll make the end that much less climatic! P.S.: you'll find out how Damas reacts to Jak being his son in Act Three. I know it might be hard for you to wait, but you will definitely find out then. I promise.**

Chapter Seventeen – Back to Haven

_"Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument." Hebrews 6:16_

* * *

His communicator beeped angrily at him and he jumped from his seat. "Gah, shut up! She just fell asleep!" he growled and picked up the device. "What?" he hissed.

"Jak?"

Jak blinked and froze. "Ash – Ashelin? How did you get this communicator ID?"

"It's Haven Jak. We can do anything."

"Except win a war."

"Shut it. Look, will you come to the Oasis?"

"Why?"

"Please Jak. Veger will find out if I'm not back by sundown and its noon."

Jak looked at the crib where Danielle lay. Maddie was out in the kitchen and Flynn was in the living room. "I'll be there soon as I can. I'm gonna have to sneak out. I'm on baby sitting duty."

"Why are you baby sitting?"

"The people I've been staying with had a baby recently."

"Alright. Just hurry please."

"Can do."

Jak looked at Danielle. "Please, stay asleep for at the least two hours," he begged and walked out into the living room. Flynn was asleep in the recliner, snoring up a storm with Daxter curled in a ball on his lap. Taking a peep around the wall he saw Maddie busily making a large meal designed to feed an army.

_Perfect._

Jak walked out the front door and made his way to the garage, being intercepted by only Kleiver.

"Where do ya think yer going yeller-belly?"

"Out."

"For whom?"

"Personal business."

"In what?"

"The Sand-Shark."

"It's out of commission."

"Then anything."

Kleiver chuckled. "Then here ya go." The man threw a set of keys at Jak. "Have fun."

Kleiver laughed as he walked away leaving Jak utterly confused. He looked at the tag on the keys. "Dune Puppy? I swear if he's making fun of my height I'm gonna be mad."

Jak clicked the button for the unlock and the lights of the dune buggy nearest him lit up. "Oh you gotta be kidding!"

He climbed into it and growled angrily under his breath. "Whatever gets me to Ashelin. Geeze!"

He started the buggy and the engine literally barked as he revved it. "Kleiver," he growled. Jak could see the fat man just laughing as he rolled on the ground.i_What did Daxter call it? Oh yeah, ROFL._

The door opened and he sped out into the desert following the GPS to the Oasis that Ashelin had told him to go to. He went as fast as the buggy could go and oddly enough not a single Marauder came after him.

"This is weird," he mumbled as he came up to the Oasis.

Getting out of the buggy he saw the blue Hellcat cruiser turning brown from all the dusty sand.

"Ashelin?" he called out and saw the black mirror like windows slide back.

"Jak? It's so good to see you," she answered and walked up to him, giving him a hug. "How have you been?"

"Safe. Alive. Tanning," he answered returning the hug. "What do you want?"

"I'm so sorry Jak."

"What do you want?"

Ashelin blinked and shook her head to clear her rambling mind. "Come with me. Back to Haven. Please."

Jak blinked and sighed. "No."

"No? Well why the hell not?"

"Look, you wouldn't understand."

"What wouldn't I understand? The city needs you. Ke – I need you. We all need you, badly."

"The city can rot for all I care. I just want my answers."

"Like what?"

"What is Veger up to? Why is he planning with the monks? What does he want in the catacombs? What does Sig mean when he tells me that "Keira's cooking up a surprise"? Ashelin, there are things happening here that only Haven can give me answers to."

"Then come with me."

Jak shook his head in defeat. "But if you can tell me what's going on with Keira I would make sure she's safe and where she needs to be. Just tell me that much."

Ashelin gulped. "It's not my place. All I can say is that out of all the people in Haven, she is the one that needs you most to keep her strong. You've got to understand that."

Jak took a staggering step back. "What is wrong with her?"

"Nothing that will kill her. Come back with me and you'll get your answers. Please."

Jak shook his head forcefully. "No Ashelin. How can I get the answers I need if you can't tell me what is going on with Keira?"

"Jak, you will get your answers if you come with me, now."

"What will the Council say if I just miraculously appear back in Haven? I need to get my own way back. You know the laws!"

"We can say that you forced me to bring you back."

"And they'll honestly believe that?"

"It won't matter since Veger has disbanded the Council completely. Jak, please. What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me what's wrong with Keira!"

Ashelin bit her bottom lip. "She's sick!" It wasn't far from the truth.

Jak reached for the spot where the necklace would have been. She was sick and he was out hanging with Veronica? He started to pant heavily. "Oh god," he gasped and he stared at the ground with frantic eyes.

"She's fine. Now will you get in the damn cruise?"

"I can't just leave. There are people here that will notice. Especially Damas."

"Damas doesn't miss much in this desert. And how do you plan on getting to Haven when all is said and done."

"The way how Sig got back. And I'm not coming back to help Haven, only to bring Keira back here. End of story."

Ashelin glared at him. "Fine. By the way," she went back to the cruiser. "Keira wanted me to give you this." She gave Jak the JET-Board.

Jak opened the compartment in the Board and saw the Seal of Mar with a note tied to it. "What is this?" he asked.

"A reminder. I'm hoping I'll hear from you by the end of the week."

"Maybe," he replied.

"Don't make Keira wait," Ashelin said and climbed into the cruiser. "She's losing it without you."

Jak watched the cruiser lift up. The windows slid shut and she sped off.

He picked up the Seal and took the note off, letting the metal sparkle. "I'm coming Keira. Don't worry," he whispered and pocketed the note, sliding the JET-Board in its normal place on his back. Everything was almost back to normal, or as normal could be.

* * *

"Sig!" Jak yelled, sprinting into the Arena. "Sig!"

"What do you want Chili Pepper?"

"Where did you get out of the catacombs?" he asked, sprinting down the steps down to the main floor, spinning around each floor with speed. "

"What?" Sig asked, lowering his gun.

Jak skidded to a stop at the entrance. "I'm going back to Haven."

"What?" the group of boys behind Sig exclaimed.

"Good riddance," one of them called out.

Sig turned to Jak and smiled. "I don't understand why your asking again. I already told you how I got back."

"I know," Jak replied and pushed his hair back in a rush. "Where did you exit the catacombs?"

Sig chuckled. "Well it's obvious isn't it?"

Daxter slapped his own forehead. "No! It's not!" the ottsel retorted.

"The temple obviously."

"I thought we were done there Jak!" Daxter complained and Jak smiled.

"Dax, we're going back to Haven," he said and grinned. "Let's go!"

Jak sprinted back up the stairs and Sig called out," Don't forget to say 'good bye'!" Jak faltered in his sprint. Sig laughed.

"Crap."

"Well yeah," Daxter commented. "We gotta let Flynn and Maddie know, your grandparents and Damas for sure – oh crap."

Jak growled as he sprinted out of the Arena.

"Alright… well who first?"

"Might as well get Damas out of the way," Jak mumbled and cursed under his breath.

He made his way to the Palace and went on his search for the king. He eventually ran into a monk and asked him where the man was.

"On the roof with the lunatic," the monk answered, turning with a huff.

"Thanks," Jak replied and went to the stairwell he knew of that led to the large torch.

Daxter pointed at the stairs dramatically and exclaimed, "I'm gonna prove Damas wrong!"

"Whatever," Jak mumbled and went up the stairs, attempting to ignore the numbers coming out of Daxter.

As they reached the landing Daxter started laughing. "Ha! 364! So can I break the ice and leave you drowning?"

Jak rolled his eyes. "I guess."

"Sweet! Let's go!"

Jak opened the door and saw his crazy uncle looming around Damas, nodded and replied back in hushed tones.

"Hey Damas!" Daxter yelled and the two older men looked at them. "So I counted those stairs again: 364! I was right!"

"I never though you'd ever prove me wrong Daxter. I guess there is a first time for everything, right Jak?"

Jak blinked in confusion. His fingers fumbling with the sea shell necklace, he nodded to appease his father.

"What do you need?" Damas asked.

"I cam to tell you that I'm going back to Haven," Jak answered, his gaze set on Damas'.

"Why? Why would you ever want to go back?"

"I'm going to bring Keira back here. I'm not leaving her in that war zone any longer than need be."

"So you're going to be coming back?"

"Yes. I'll bring back information if you want."

Damas nodded. "Yes, without Sig there I know nothing of what is going on. I want you to check in whenever something new and important happens."

"I'll be sure to do so," Jak replied and turned away leaving the large area.

Jacob grabbed Damas' shoulder and nodded at him.

"What do you know Jacob?"

"I know that I see you in him in mind and spirit. I know that he is angry, that he is hurting. I know that he is in love with the Keira girl as you were with Danielle. And I know that you will see what I see."

"I already know that he's strong willed and bull-headed."

"That is what you know you see in him. Look past the aggression and pain and the years forced upon him. Open your yes to the truth before you."

"How?"

"Only you know the answer to that."

"Sometimes I have to wonder if you're related to those monks with how you speak." Jacob only cackled in response.

* * *

Jak looked at his pack again. Maddie and Susan were not letting him leave without proper supervisions. Though he figured Dax would eat all of it by the time they got to Haven, so he wouldn't have to worry about leftovers at all.

"Now you promise you'll call now and then that way I'm not freaking out all the time?" Maddie asked from the doorway with baby Danielle in her arms.

Jak smiled and turned to her. "I promise I'm coming back, you don't need to worry. Besides, it's just Haven. What worse could they do to me?"

"You never know. Have you stopped at Veronica's?"

"Not yet. And I'd rather not."

"She's going to be mad. She's probably furious that you're wearing that necklace Keira gave you," Maddie said with a cheeky grin."

"You never did like that I was seeing her," Jak replied and rubbed the back of his neck guiltily.

"You're right and for good reason," she retorted and put her hand on her hip and Dani humphed in agreement.

"Now you can't turn against me too Dani!" Jak exclaimed, feigning to be hurt. She grinned at him and held out her arms to him. "I'll be back soon. And hopefully with a new friend. She's much better."

Danielle leaned toward him and Maddie smiled. "She'll miss you."

"I know," Jak sighed. "I better get going. I have to find Daxter."

"Be safe and don't do anything stupid, or anything that Flynn would do."

"I will be safe. They can't hurt me anymore than they already have. I promise."

Maddie gave him a hug and watched him leave.

Jak walked down the street toward his grandparent's home. Susan had made lunch for Daxter and wanted a good reason for Jak to visit her again when she found out to the house and kicked off his boots as he walked in.

"Susan?" he asked as he continued into the kitchen.

"Jak, how many times have I told you, call me Nana!" Susan exclaimed.

"Yeah Jak!" Daxter exclaimed. "Nana makes _awesome_ cookies! Tell me again why we didn't know your Nana?"

"Because we were five hundred some years in the past."

"Oh yeah. Oh who cares? These cookies are amazing!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "Come on Dax. We have to get going if we want to be in Haven by nightfall."

"Oh so then you can have sexy times with Keira?"

Jak's ears flamed red and he gave a guilty glance to his grandmother. "Don't worry Jak, I won't hurt you. At least not physically."

"Ooooooooh," Daxter chimed.

"You're just as much as fault Daxter."

"Darn it."

Susan went over to Jak and led him into the living room. "I'm going to miss you Jak."

"I'm coming back! And I'm bringing Keira back with me no matter what. Soon as she's here the city can burn."

"What if she won't come?"

"She will. I won't let her stay in Haven. Not when they are always in war."

"So is Spargus."

"You aren't able to tell. Everyone is happy here and we're safe. In Haven you can't walk the streets with a smile or you could be shot. She will come."

"Just be safe. And come back alive," she said and gave him a hug.

"I promise."

Susan sniffed and kissed him on the cheek. "You are so much like Danielle. Your heart has remained so pure even though you've gone through so much. Don't change that Jak."

"I'll try. I'll see you soon."

"Yes."

Jak walked to the kitchen and Daxter jumped onto his shoulder. "Come on Dax. We've got a city to infiltrate."

* * *

**Hey, lookie! It's chapter seventeen! One more and then it's hiatus!**

**Why are you looking at me like that? Be excited that I have the chapters all written! Oh... it's because of the hiatus right? Sorry. Life is winning at making me suffer. XD**

**Anywho, I thought it was funny that Susan demands Jak to call her Nana. It would be hilarious to see that. Not even kidding. I love Susan, she's like the best Grandma ever! XD**

**And Jacob knows, he's always known. He's also crazy, so his crazy talk is simply a part of his character and how he talks to Damas. He's funny... though a lot of the characters in Spargus won't be mentioned for a while, except for maybe Maddie and Susan being all over protective over Jak and whatnot... especially Susan... And MAI-ANN! SHE MIGHT BE COMING BACK! I'm not sure if I want her to have died or if she evaded them like she did before... Hmm... We'll find out later when I actually write it. XD**

**See ya next week!**


	19. Chapter Eighteen The Boys are Back

**EmbyrEye: Hello dearest. I'm sorry I confused you. I meant to say that after I have Act One all posted I would go on hiatus until further notice. I'm sorry. This is the last one until I have time again to write. And all three acts will be one big story, less confusing for me. And don't be super excited. You will NOT like how I ended it. Just letting you know that right now. **

Chapter Eighteen – The Boys Are Back In Town

_"My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your alter, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you." Psalm 84:2-4_

Jak walked up to the monk with hope. Maybe things would go smoothly and even work out so then they didn't have to go on a wild yakow chase to find the catacombs and get back to Haven.

"Excuse me," Jak whispered and the monk turned with a glare. "Crap."

"What do you, of all people, want?" Seem asked with an angry sneer.

"I'm trying to find a way back into Haven. If you tell me the way into the catacombs that lead to the Eco Mines I'll be out of your hair for a long time, I promise."

"Well, since your offer is just so tempting, no."

"Well why not?" Daxter asked.

"One: because I don't like you. Two: because the catacombs don't need to be tainted any more than they already are."

"Please?" Jak asked. "We'll be here forever if I don't get back to Haven."

Seem glared up at him. "There are dark forces that followed the Wastelander back from Haven. When you go through the catacombs, be sure to clear them out. With those tunnels being the closest we can get to our creators, a lot of us don't like those monsters there."

"Consider them gone," Jak replied.

"Take the talking bird with you too. I don't know why Damas sent him here, but he belongs to the sooth sayer in Haven. Make sure he stays there. He's done absolutely nothing but complain."

"Pecker?"

"Yes."

"Nooooooo!" Daxter whined and hung his head. "We've gone so long without seeing him!"

"And you have missed me!" the bird yelled, landing on Jak's other shoulder.

The blond rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Where to?"

"Down that hall. You can't miss it." Seem dead-panned and walked away.

"I hate you," Daxter snapped at Pecker and crossed his arms, facing away from the bird. "You should have just stayed in freaking Haven in the first place!"

"Onin made me come! It was not my choice! Get over it!"

"And what have you done here anyways? Complain?"

"No! Well… a little. But I've been guiding Damas!"

"With what? How to sleep?"

"I've been helping him rule the city!"

"Oh, like he can't do that on his own when he's been doing it for who knows how freaking long!"

"All good kings need an advisor!"

"Oh and I'm sure all the advisors just so happen to be flying rats? Am I right?" Daxter snapped and flipped off Pecker.

"Why you little – "

"Will you two stop it?" Jak asked and growled as he continued walking down the hall. "We'll never be able to come back here if you two keep arguing."

"Not until he apologizes," Pecker stated.

"For what exactly?" Daxter exclaimed. "I'm just stating facts! You're nothing but a lazy ass bird who sits in a bowl decoding for a blind and mute old woman! Or here, you're nothing but a lazy ass bird who sits in a harem!"

"You're just jealous!"

"I am not! There are plenty of sexy women walking the streets of Spargus that I can claim!"

"And they'll just bend right on over for a rodent?"

Daxter stood up and faced Pecker. "You're jealous that you don't have my slick moves! I am a ladies man and that is that!"

Jak rolled his eyes looked down a corridor. "That's odd," he mused and went down the hall.

"Uh… Jak, where are you going?" Daxter asked, glancing back at the hall they were just in.

"I think Seem lied to us."

"Why would a monk lie to us?" Pecker asked and rolled his eyes as he settled down in his spot.

"Because of reason number one: she doesn't like us. I'm pretty sure that's all the reason she needs," Jak reasoned and continued to the door that looked like the Seal of Mar.

He pulled out his seal from his pocket and felt it heat up. Coming up to the door he held up the medallion and the seal glowed brightly, causing the door to open.

* * *

Seem jumped. "The Mar family door?" she asked aloud and looked behind her.

She made her way to the overhead view of the catacomb tunnel and waited.

The door opened below her. She stared hard at it. Only monks and the royal family could enter through that door. Who was at it?

Jak walked through with those two annoying creatures. "What?" she asked and glared at him. "How did he do that?"

Seem turned away and glared at the ground with fretful eyes. Was he a son of Mar? How? "This doesn't make any sense at all…" she whispered.

* * *

"This better be a faster way," Daxter mumbled as he crossed his arms and skulked after they crossed a sign that read that the tunnel they were in lead right to the catacombs.

"Oh I'm sure it will be," Pecker snapped. "This tunnel is for the royal family and monks! It's the quickest access for safety reasons. Duh!"

"Oh, right. Cause everyone knows that! WE'RE NOT FROM HERE YA DUNCE!"

Jak rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You two will not stop arguing will you?"

Pecker and Daxter looked at each other. "Nope," they answered together.

Jak hit his forehead with an echoing slap. "Of course you two won't stop. What was I thinking?"

"Well, at least we know that your seal opens doors! That's pretty cool!"

Pecker rolled his eyes. "Only specific doors!"

"Will you two shut up?" Jak yelled and stormed down the hall. "I swear if you don't shut up I will be your worst nightmare!"

"Uh… I full heartedly agree that we should both shut up," Pecker stated. "I am shutting up right now."

"Suck up," Daxter smirked and sat down with a huff.

"Good," Jak grumbled and went through the large arch way at the end of the hall. "Wait a second…" he whispered and walked into the room, not seeing anything.

"Um… this doesn't look like anything," Daxter mumbled and looked at Pecker. "So, senor smarty-pants, what is this?"

"I… do not know. But I'm getting some freaky vibes from Onin about how the catacombs are our only hope or something like that."

"Of course the catacombs are our only hope!" Daxter snapped. "Why wouldn't the most dangerous place on this damned planet be our only hope? That's always how it goes, doesn't it?"

Jak rolled his eyes.

"The answer is here," Pecker mumbled and crossed his wings.

Jak looked around. The far wall looked like it could open up, but more than likely with some unknown force – or a very valuable seal. He smirked for a moment and then he saw a glint of light. "Huh?" he grunted and the light exploded revealing an image of a Precursor.

"Hot damn!" Daxter exclaimed and fell backwards.

"Told you," Pecker reprimanded.

The Precursor lifted a hand to Jak and pointed at him accusingly, "You show great promise warrior, but your bravery will not protect you from the foes you must soon face. And since we find favor in you, use this gift from the light help you in your quest." Jak felt an odd force grab him, lifting him into the air and forcing the Light Eco to change him into a blue image. A large round shield erupted from his chest and surrounded him in a transparent light. "It is what little we have left to offer. Learn this gift to its full potential."

Daxter's jaw dropped as he looked at Jak. "Dude… are those wings?" he exclaimed and the shield dropped and a large set of wings exploded from his back. "Dude! THOSE ARE WINGS!"

Jak looked at one of the large feathered wings and grabbed it with his hand. His eyes opened widely and the blue image vanished, along with the wings

"What the heck was that?" Jak asked and looked at his hands, turning to see if the wings were still there.

"Dude!" Daxter yelled and ran up to him, jumping onto his shoulder. "You had freaking wings! THAT'S SO FREAKING COOL!"

"So says the ottsel that doesn't like to fly," Jak dead-panned.

"Dude, what part of YOU HAVE WINGS do you not get? You can so totally fly and not have to use monk crap! I AM SO ALL OVER THIS!"

Pecker rolled his eyes. "Hey you two should get your head out of your asses and look," he said and flapped his wings, vaulting into the air. "The door to the catacombs are open."

Jak smirked and jolted his shoulder. "You boys ready for a little ride?" he asked and jogged over to the entrance, jumping into the vehicle made for the catacombs.

* * *

"Daddy, is he coming? I can't tell," Keira paced the room, her stomach hidden as much as possible under her shirt.

"Keira, these things take time. If he's gotten into the catacombs it'll be that much harder to get a direct link on him," Samos answered and watched her pace. "And you should stop pacing. You'll get sick."

"How do you know? And I'm worried. What if he gets hurt? And what about those barriers that are now up? How is he supposed to get here?" she exclaimed and ran her hand through her hair.

"We will worry about those things when they happen. Jak can take care of himself; he will not be hurt simply by going through the catacombs. And I know that you'll get sick from pacing because your mother did that and was always sick afterwards. I'm just warning you."

"Well, I'm not mom am I?" Keira asked and sighed. "I just want Jak here. He doesn't know. Ashelin didn't tell him."

"Why didn't Ashelin tell him?"

"I asked her not to. It's not Ashelin's job to let Jak know what has happened, it's mine if anything."

"It is not your job either. Now will you sit down? You're making me dizzy watching you."

Keira sat down at the desk, but tapped her foot anxiously. She watched the map with eagerness, waiting for the GPS to pick up on Jak's communicator. "If what I'm assuming will happen, happens," Samos started and Keira looked at him with a look of surprise, "Jak should more than likely be here by midnight tonight."

"Really Daddy?"

"That's only if he's in the catacombs now and nothing else happens. I can't promise anything."

"That's all I can hope for right now. Thank you Daddy."

Samos smiled and grabbed his daughter's hand. "Don't worry, Keira. He will be fine and he will make the right choice. I'll make him if he doesn't."

Keira smiled and put her hand on her round belly. "What do you think he will do?"

"I think he'll be angry with himself and more than likely scared of what I'll do to him. He will do whatever it takes to keep you safe though and I will agree with whatever he decides. It will be up to you though to agree with him. Just know that you'll be outnumbered."

Keira scoffed. "Daddy, I want to be with Jak. I'll go anywhere with him."

"That might mean you leaving Haven. Haven is not a safe place, you know that. Look what the people have done to you, blaming you and wanting to kill you and the baby just because of who the father is. I know you don't know much of Spargus, but what I know, is that it's safe and you will not be attacked there."

Keira blinked. "That sounds a lot nicer than here."

"And I hear they have an amazing view of the ocean."

Keira's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"That's what I've heard, and looking at the map, I'm assuming so. The place where Jak's communicator has been for a long time has been near the ocean, so there has to be a housing unit there of some kind."

"Daddy, there's an ocean! Like in Sandover! Oh my goodness, why can't I be there now?"

Samos smiled and shrugged. He glanced at her stomach. "I know this is going to bother you, but how far along are you?"

Keira looked down and sighed. "Tess says that I'm about thirty two weeks. I have about two months left."

Samos nodded. "Just know Keira that whatever happens, someone – either it is me or Jak or any of your friends here – will be there to help you."

"Why are you saying this Daddy?"

"I'm just not sure of how the child will turn out. Jak has Dark Eco in his DNA and that means a lot. Infants don't always react to Eco correctly like older children do. What has the doctor said?"

"Abagale said that the baby was completely normal. She hasn't seen anything wrong with the development in the slightest. Daddy, do you think something will be wrong with her?"

Samos smirked and shook his head. "Your mother did the same thing, except she was expecting you to be a boy."

Keira raised a brow. "Well excuse me for wanting a girl. I would be happy with either though."

Samos smiled. "Good to know dear. Here, let's get something ready in case if Jak does find a way through that barrier, okay?"

"Sounds good Daddy. And thank you for not being angry at him any more."

"Oh don't you worry dear. I am plenty angry. A good whack to the head will do that boy some justice. I just won't do it in front of you."

Keira rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Wow… That was… interesting," Daxter stated, rubbing his head. "I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing."

"I get it Dax. You don't want to go into the only exit we have because you're "whisker" senses are tingling. Well, tough luck."

"Oh come on Jak! We raced through the catacombs, might I add at a speed you are far too comfortable with, fight our way through Mar's Eco Mines, which are the freaking creepiest place I could ever have imagined, and now you want me to go into the creepy opening that has three huge Precursor Robots just sitting around. Um… excuse me if my whiskers are itching! It's common sense!"

"Hey, don't you worry! You got me!"

"And what happens if you die? What then?"

"I won't die. Not when I've come this far."

"Oh you better hope you don't! I'll rip you a new one if you do!"

Jak rolled his eyes and ran in as the small rail track fell apart and another door fell behind him. "Well that's not good," Jak mumbled, looking back at the door and the gap they just crossed.

"Ya think?" Daxter yelled.

Across the room a smaller door opened. Jak glared as he saw Count Veger. "Great, just what we needed," he growled and sprinted to the other side of the room where another gap met them.

"The monks told me you were coming through the Precursor sub-rails. Interesting, aren't they? The Precursors used them to build the world countless eons ago. Did you know that the rail system leads deep into the planet? It's said that the ancient ones wait there to bestow unimaginable powers upon the worthy. I will save the world with that power, just as Mar did!" Veger ranted, looking at the small red orb on his staff with wonder.

"Right," Jak sneered. "And it looks as if you're doing a wonderful job already, letting the Metal Heads destroy the Palace."

Veger chuckled, "Oh you couldn't be more mistaken my dear boy." He spun and yelled, "We are on a time clock, Jak! That light in the sky, do you have any idea as to what it is? Our nightmare has found us and the end is coming! I needed quick access to the tunnels below, so I destroyed the Palace myself. It will be our little secret, right?"

"Oh well, you're definitely full of surprises."

"And you're full of Dark Eco!" Veger snapped. "You and your rat are an abomination. But I will rid the world of your scourge soon enough. Pure light will rule the universe, and I will be the bright light that shines to every corner of the world and destroys all shadows!"

Daxter looked at Jak and rolled his eyes. "Uh, excuse me… Count Vulgar?"

"It's Veger!"

"Yeah, right, whatever. Dude, isn't it nice just to curl up in the shade sometime? Ya know, just chillin' watching the hot babes prance around in their skimpy little bikinis. Ya know, just how they jiggle… I get the special tingling sensation in my tail…"

"Enough!" Veger screamed and panted heavily. "We will start with the cleansing of the world with your demise. Behold," the red orb on his staff lit up, "I now command the very power of the ancient ones! And this time," he walked to the door, "the Precursors will not have mercy on you. I swear it." The door shut.

Jak looked around and saw that the center Precursor robot had awoken.

"Great. Just freaking great," he growled and glared up at the robot as it roared.

"Dude, why can't we just get a freaking break?" Daxter exclaimed and groaned.

* * *

Jak panted as he stared into the chasm below, waiting for the robot to jump back out. "Good, it better stay that way," Daxter yelled.

"Geeze, with the amount of Precursor robots that we've fought you'd think we'd be professionals at it!" Daxter exclaimed. "The boys are back in town!"

Jak smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Let's go topside and see what kind of trouble we can get into," he smirked and fist bumped with Daxter.

"Sounds like my kind of chaos!"

* * *

**I'm sorry. I truly am for leaving you on a cliff hanger while I go and learn about stuff. I'm very sorry. I might start writing this again during my Christmas Break, that's three weeks long, but I can't give you any firm promises. And just so you know, I have finally decided on how far along Keira will be! My goodness! That was probably the hardest thing! And I have a very good name for said child. Not telling, cause that'll ruin the surprise! Don't worry, you'll like it, especially you people who have played The Lost Frontier! **

**And it's titles like this chapter that make me wish I never heard some songs. Soon as I typed it I was singing the song and I kind of wanted to pull my hair out. XD **

**Anyways, I love you and I'll see you at some point later on when I have time to write this again. See ya then!**


	20. Chapter Nineteen Master Plan

Chapter Nineteen – Master Plan

_"Do not boast of yourself and tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1_

* * *

"Dude, what a rush!" Daxter yelled, the fight from the robot still giving him an adrenaline rush.

Jak sighed. The Stadium district of Haven City was torn apart. Once towering sky scrapers now lay on the ground as rubble. Neon signs that had advertised liquor, racing and adult stores were hanging lifeless by hinges.

"This is bad Dax, Ashelin was right," Jak commented, looking around, seeing one of the posters from the championship race.

"Hey, it's only this district. Don't make it something it's not," Daxter reprimanded. "Besides we'll be able to see our friends again. And of course Keira."

A smile grew on Jak's face. The JET-Board on his back was just one reminder of the girl he loved, he also had the necklace he had made her when they were young and in Sandover. He remembered spending days sneaking the shells to his room when Keira wasn't looking. He remembered begging his uncle without words to not tell her and to help him. He remembered the look of pure joy on her face when he handed her the necklace. He also remembered the look of hate burning off of Samos.

He fingered the band around his neck; a small smile graced his mouth as he remembered all of Keira's smiles, the shy ones, the geeky ones, the ecstatic ones, every single smile that had ever come across her face. They seemed to all be engraved into his mind.

"Jak… you are spacing out big time."

Jak blinked and sighed. "I guess so," he mumbled. "Do you remember how to get to New Haven from here?"

"Um… I think that way," Daxter pointed down a main road. "I'd follow the white wall, which I'm assuming is a barricade."

"Good assumption."

Jak made his way down the streets, carefully picking his way around the rubble. Finally after what seemed like hours, they came on to the street that led to New Haven.

"Go! I see Samos!" Daxter yelled as Jak sprinted to the barricade.

"Samos! Keira!" Jak exclaimed and she smiled at him, tears twinkling in her eyes and her hand resting on a rather large stomach.

Daxter's mouth dropped. "Jak, I'm not seeing things are I?" he mumbled.

"No."

Jak gulped and walked the rest of the way up to the barricade, reaching his hand to her.

_Precursors, what have I done?_

"I missed you so much Jak," she smiled and put her hand to the wall.

Jak smiled, but his gaze stayed at her stomach.

"Oh, her? Well… um, she's yours if that makes you feel any better."

Jak's smile dropped. He wanted to hit himself, ram a zoomer into a wall and stay in the explosion. He wanted to beg Samos not to kill him, because he was sure that's what the death glare was about. He wanted to do anything but feel better about it.

"Jak, say something, anything," she urged, giving him a pleading look.

"I don't know what to say," he whispered and looked at Samos. _I'm so sorry. Please don't kill me._ He begged Samos in his mind.

"I'm not gonna kill you, boy. I'm highly disappointed, because I know that you two know better than to go off and have sex." Jak blushed and looked at the ground. "Daxter I expect it out of, but not you two."

"I feel so honored… hey what?" Daxter exclaimed and glared at the green man.

Jak jolted his shoulder and Daxter shut up.

"You two have to discuss this issue. Keira is bent on keeping it, obviously since she's so far along. And you know exactly what I expect out of you Jak, and if you don't that's your own fault," Samos threatened.

Jak looked at Keira, then at her stomach. How could he have messed up so badly? He never wanted this to happen. He couldn't believe that something to this extent actually happened by his own hand.

"And this barricade isn't coming down anytime soon," Keira said, bringing up a much better topic. "We're going to have to talk later. Right now it's not safe. Veger put the walls up and he's the only one with the passkey. You're going to have to get to the Port."

"How?" Jak asked and looked at her. "The only way to the Port from the Stadium district is through New Haven or the Bazaar, which I'm going to take a wild swing and assume that it isn't safe or accessible."

"You'd be right. You might have to go through the sewers, which doesn't sound pleasant at all. But it's the only way."

"Anyone in the Port of any use for me?"

"Torn was stationed there, but I'm not sure what for and for how long. I'm sure that once you get there you'll find out."

"Oh I'm sure," Jak sighed and put a hand to the wall. Keira put hers next to his and looked him in the eye. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For listening to me."

"I made a promise. And thank you for staying alive."

Jak smiled and sighed. "I will see you soon, even if I have to tear apart the city. I will."

Jak turned away reluctantly from Keira and Samos to go and make his way to the sewer systems. He couldn't believe what he had seen. His girl was pregnant, looked like she was ready to blow and he was out gallivanting around the desert with not a care in the world. He wanted to kill himself for Samos.

"That had to be what Sig meant. God, Daxter, how could I have been so stupid?"

"Well, you did take flirting lessons from the novice Flynn," Daxter teased and cracked up in laughter at his own joke. Jak rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Har, har, Dax, this isn't funny! I had sex with her one time! It was right after that friggen doctor told me I was basically a dead man walking."

"Ouch! You didn't tell her did you?"

"No! And honestly, I barely even remember that night. I blacked out."

"So, she basically had sex with you passed out on the couch?"

"NO! It was like… before I could see through my madness… whenever I changed."

"Wait, you technically were there and awake, but your RAWR side was in control? The hell?"

"I don't know! Maybe it actually heard the doctor and wanted to stay alive. I'm basically a host. Pass on the DNA and it stays alive."

Jak ducked into the sewer entrance, while Daxter turned the GPS on, on the communicator. "Dude, we are in for a long haul. We're going right through Metal Head and KG territory. We're dead."

"Not so long as you got me. Let's just hope that Samos or Keira will notify Torn that we're on the way, especially since I'm i_not/i_ in the mood to be dodging thrown knives."

"I'm not in the mood to be getting a buzz cut anytime soon! I wonder if Tess will be there…"

"Great, so then I can gag over your flirting? I'll take my own chances with Veronica."

"Of course I can flirt! You flirt with Veronica with Keira as big as a house and you'd have your nuts kicked in. TWICE!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "Well thanks for that pleasant thought."

"Just stating facts."

Jak trudged through the shin deep sludge, using the GPS map to avoid the larger groups of enemies and taking advantage of the newly acquired Light Eco powers to light up the dark passages.

"How much farther?" Daxter whined on cue as Jak stopped right below a man hole.

"Look up."

"Oh," Daxter mumbled. "Well, hurry up."

Jak chuckled and grabbed hold of the ladder, hoisting himself up as the he shoved the cover up.

A stream of natural light entered and Daxter jumped out.

"Yes! Fresh air!" He took a deep breath.

Jak chuckled.

"Bleh! Not even a difference! Man I miss the desert already, at least that air was clean, had a breeze even though it was dry. Gah!"

"You'd think you'd know that the Port smelt this bad all the time. Slums has fresher air."

"Yeah, but not by much!"J

Jak stood and took off his boots to empty them of the sludge, the cold air finally affecting him.

"Holy shit its freezing!" Jak exclaimed and shivered violently.

A passerby looked at him oddly and blinked as recognition finally grabbed hold. "Holy yakow! You're back!" the woman exclaimed with a grin spreading across her face. "We're saved! We're finally saved!" She ran off to the Naughty Ottsel.

Jak looked down at Daxter and shrugged.

"Hey," Daxter said, "at least we're worshiped now!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "You call that worshipping? I call that disparity."

"Way to ruin the moment Jak. Way to go."

"Just stating facts," he said, copying Daxter's comment from earlier. Daxter narrowed his gaze on the taller elf and shook his head. Jak shoved his foot back into the wet boot and shivered again. "I'm gonna need a jacket."

"Well, ya know, if you had grown fur instead you wouldn't be cold."

"How does that make any sense?"

"It doesn't need to. If you had fur, you wouldn't be cold. I'm not cold. I have fur. So there ya go."

"Whatever. Let's just go to the bar and see what Torn has done down here and why he's down here."

"Sounds good! I miss my bar!"

Jak rubbed his upper arms as he walked down the street towards the large neon ottsel. "Looks like its taken a few good hits," Jak said, nodding at the moving head.

Daxter's eyes widened. "HOW DARE THEY SHOOT AT MY BEAUTIFUL MUG!"

Jak flinched at the scream and shivered again as he opened the door to the Naughty Ottsel.

"Ah, the Naughty Ottsel," Daxter sighed as they entered the building. "Honey, I'm home!"

Torn looked up from the map table in the center of the bar and blinked twice. "Jak? I didn't think I'd ever see you here again," he said in surprise and shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it!"

"Torn! What have you done to my place?" Daxter exclaimed, interrupting Torn's train of thought.

Torn blinked in annoyance and glared at the orange rat on Jak's shoulder. "We needed a southern HQ for the war since we've been cut off. Plus, I kind of like the ottsel head outside."

"Yeah?" Daxter asked in disbelief. "It's pretty cool huh?"

Torn smirked, "We use it for target practice."

"Well that explains the dents," Jak teased and chuckled.

"Hey!" Daxter yelled and crossed his arms angrily.

Torn made eye contact with Jak again. "Jak, listen, I'm sorry we couldn't stop Count Veger. Believe me we all are."

Jak scoffed. "We just saw Veger. He's trying to use Precursor Technology for… something." He looked away. Veger was attempting to use Precursor Technology for more than just "something" but that was Jak's business, not Torn's.

Torn rolled his eyes. "Figures. That guy always was one monk short of a choir," he grumbled and paced the length of the room, a welcome sight for Jak to know that not everyone had changed. "We have bigger problems now though. Veger sent me on a suicide attack into the Port and we got cut off. I'm sure you've seen the freaking security walls. Now we can't get back to Freedom HQ. Our forces are divided and the KG and Metal Head fronts are squeezing us from both sides."

Daxter smirked. "Never fear, the trouble twins are here," he chimed and wagged his eye brows at Jak.

A loud beep came from the map, a large KG robot appearing. "Shit!" Torn cursed and ran over to the map. "Speaking of trouble. We've got incoming blast bots coming from the KG city section, and they're heading right this way. Think you can handle it Jak?"

Daxter shuddered. "Okay, so we've got a little fear hee, hee… but Jak is here!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "You're going to have about four less robots to worry about Torn," he answered and went back outside. "This is gonna be a good day, Dax."

Daxter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so says the guy who likes to blow up robots. I would much rather be lying on the beach."

"Maybe later we can get a jacket," Jak mumbled and rubbed his arms for heat as he sprinted down the street, readying himself to rip the guts out of those robots.

* * *

Veger paced back and forth in his office, looking up every so often to stare at the mural of Precursors on his wall. He was doing everything in his power to fix the mess that this world had gotten them into. But that boy, he was ruining everything.

He growled under his breath as he fingered the staff in his hand. "What is it that he wants? Why is he trying to foil my plans? Why?" he yelled out and thrust the staff at the mural. "Tell me why! He seems to be one step behind me all the time! It's only a matter of time before he over takes me and takes my place! It is going to be i_me_/i that saves this world, not that Dark Eco Freak!"

The mural was silent in answering him and he stared at it, waiting for it to speak.

Veger closed his eyes and shook his head violently. "What am I doing? Waiting for a mural to talk to me?" he asked out and scoffed. "A fool is what I am being."

He walked over to the holographic map and expanded it to where the KG robots were attacking. "Right next to the Southern HQ? Well isn't that just pleasant?"

He watched the dots signifying the KG die away one by one at a pace that was not possible for anyone in the Freedom League. He blinked and zoomed in to the battle, seeing a figure he had assumed dead.

"No," he gasped and the camera followed the vicious teen cut through the large KG robots with ease, slicing the front legs and then gutting out the wires that kept them going. "No, no, no, no, NO! He is dead! He was destroyed by that robot! There is absolutely no way!"

He watched in a fury as Jak finished off the last attacking robot. Jak kicked the head of the robot into the Port water and then shivered violently. Veger narrowed his gaze on the shivering boy and turned the map off.

"I will kill you boy, one way or another, you will die while you are here," he growled.

"Okay Dax, we need to get a jacket. No more going around in a t-shirt," Jak said through chattering teeth.

"Learn to grow fur!" Daxter laughed and grabbed one of the cookies that Susan had packed. "Dude, I miss your Nana already! Her cookies are the bomb!"

Jak rolled his eyes and made his way back to the bar.

* * *

Keira walked down the dark hallway, cradling her large stomach as she did. It would only be a matter of time before Torn reached Ashelin about Jak being back. The look on her face would be priceless as would everyone else's who was in the room.

She reached the map room where Ashelin had spent most of her time and she heard the gravel like voice that belonged to Torn. She grinned and bit her lip in expectation.

"Jak's back in the city!" Torn exclaimed and she saw Jak's image appear on the communicator.

"Thank you, Jak," she whispered and walked in further.

"Jak?" Ashelin asked and a smile grew over her face. "I knew I could count on you."

"Just took a bit of reminding is all," Jak said with a smirk.

"That new KG leader is probably pissing in his… wait… someone's jamming the signal, I think – "

An image that Keira had not expected to see appeared. A distorted face of what was once…

"Errol," Jak growled.

Errol cackled. "I live!" he exclaimed. "Still fighting for the weak link, eh Jak? Well I've had a few enhancements, you could say, since we last met. Even the Metal Heads have their biological weakness. But me? I'm pure Metal. I'd love to meet you again." A dangerous glint was visible in the still human eye.

Keira noticed her father in the room. "We must unite our forces or we're through. You have to reach us Jak. You're our only hope!"

"We need you to break through the barricades and link up with us. The KG robots are growing stronger each day. That floating war factory of theirs is spitting out more robots every day," Ashelin stated and growled under her breath, slamming her fist against the table.

Torn's image appeared again. "We need to assault the KG front. If we can get through their defenses we may be able to link back up with HQ. Care to make some noise Jak?"

Jak chuckled as his face appeared. "We're always up for a little rumble. What do you say Dax?"

"Fish in a barrel baby! Fish in a barrel!" Daxter exclaimed, making a gun out of his fingers.

"Stay safe Jak," Keira said and put her hand to her chest.

* * *

Torn crossed his arms as he paced the length of the bar continuously, as Daxter nursed a bottle of alcohol.

"So Tattooed Wonder, what's you master plan?" Daxter asked a slight slur to his words as he watched the veteran pace. "And you're making me dizzy. STOP!"

Torn glared at the ottsel and continued pacing. "I'm thinking! And it would be easier to _think _if you weren't complaining every five seconds!" Torn yelled and got up in the ottsel's face.

Jak rolled his eyes from his spot in the booth huddled under a blanket. He had had nothing else to do while Torn had been pacing thinking of ways to penetrate the KG blockade.

He was confused about why there was a blockade to begin with considering that it would make sense to an enemy to not put up any kind of barricade, of course with Veger in control it would make sense. He shivered once more as he tried to figure out what Veger was really up to. Could it have been as simple as he had stated? Could Veger simply want to make the world "pure"?

"Whatever that means?" he scoffed and rolled his eyes. There was reason why there were opposite Ecos. Red balanced Yellow. Blue balanced Green. Dark balanced Light. And vice versa. "There's a reason why there is Dark Eco," he growled and looked over at Torn and Daxter.

"S'not my fault that you can only think while pacing!" Daxter yelled and took a swig of the drink.

"Why not blow up the blockade?" Jak asked, grabbing Torn's attention.

"With what exactly?" Torn asked.

"Why don't you ask Jinx? He has to have something."

"And pay him with what exactly? He doesn't do anything for free!"

"He'll get to blow something up. I'm sure that will be payment enough. He gets off on that," Jak said, sliding out of the booth and shrugging off the blanket.

"He also gets off on sex, drugs and hard liquor. How do you exactly plan on giving him that?"

Jak raised a brow. "We're in a bar."

Torn rolled his eyes. "And how are you going to pay him," he thrust his thumb at the drunken ottsel, "back."

"Daxter? Oh, he's easy. Give him Tess," Jak said with a smirk.

"Fine," Torn said and went to a corner of the bar to pull out his communicator.

"We're getting there Dax. Slowly but surely, we're getting there."

"That's good," Daxter slurred.

"And you can see Tess."

"What? No way! Awesome!" Daxter yelled and leaped for joy. "I get to see my baby cakes!"

* * *

**Hey all! Guess what this is! AN UPDATE!**

**I honestly didn't even think I would get to update so darn fast! XD It's been awhile! So I think this is how it's gonna go: soon as I have the chapter finished, I'm gonna post it, with about as much editing that Microsoft Word gives me and whatever sounds right in my head. Gonna be interesting that's for sure! XD **

**But hey, don't worry! There will be lots and lots of Daxter and Tess fluff, like filled to the brim. Not sure how the gun conversation is gonna go, but I'll figure it out. Don't you worry! And soon, there will be Jak and Keira fluff! There's gonna be so much fluff that I'm gonna explode! lol**

**So yeah, I'll see you at the next update! And please review! **ღ


	21. Chapter Twenty Long Days & Short Nights

Chapter Twenty – Long Days and Short Nights

"_Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7_

* * *

Jak watched Torn make the deal with Jinx, waiting for the explosion expert to disagree. He smirked at his own plan when Jinx shook hands with Torn.

Jinx nodded once at Jak as he walked out of the bar. "Nice to see you back Jakkie boy! Can't wait to work with you again blondie," he said as he went past Jak.

Jak rolled his and went over to Torn. "So?" he asked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You were right. But he also has his own need for this. All his business was in the Industrial district; he needs back in there and in the Slums. I have no idea how he got here though unless he was doing a job for someone," Torn answered and leaned against the counter. "I have no idea how you knew he would accept the job."

"He's easy, like Daxter. Speaking of which… I need to go and pick him up. So what does Jinx have for us?"

Torn shook his head. "A rocket, like one on an RPG. It doesn't have any control though and he said that for it to actually blow up the barricade it needs to get enough power from its speed, so it somehow has to go all around the Port, without blowing up and back to the barricade. You have a plan for that?"

Jak sighed. "How big is it?" he asked and bit his lip.

"About three feet."

"Daxter's only two."

Torn grinned. "Go get your rat."

Jak rolled his eyes and left the bar, the long-sleeved shirt he now wore kept him warm enough considering that it was early summer in Haven. "Never gonna get used to this freaking cold," he growled under his breath as he made his way to the gun range where he had left Daxter. He wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing the two lovebirds any time soon.

He entered the gun range and the sour smell of gun powder and hot steel woke him up a little.

"Oh my sweet Daxxie, you are never going to leave me again like that! I missed you so! And there was so much drama without you here! With all the back stabbing from Veger and," she sighed dramatically and turned to see Jak. "Oh Jak! How are you? Thank you so much for bringing Daxxie here to keep me company; I have just been sooooo lonely here." Tess made a sweet baby face for Daxter.

"I actually came to get Daxter, he has something to do to get us closer to New Haven," Jak said and smiled as Tess's face lit up with excitement.

"Oh Daxxie, did you hear that? You get to do something heroic!" she exclaimed excitedly and hugged him.

"Baby, everything I do is heroic," Daxter said. "Haven't you been listening?"

"OH of course darling! I just missed your tales and how heroic you always are!"

Jak rolled his eyes. How on earth did Tess even believe half of what Daxter said? Everything that came out of his mouth was embellished and hard to follow. He shook his head. "Come on Dax. We need to get this done."

"Oh, alright," Daxter grumbled and jumped down from Tess's lap. "I'll be back sweet cakes!"

"Oh I can't wait! Oh by the way Jak, I just finished this awesome gun. And you can have it since no one here wants it."

"What is it?" Jak asked, not seeing what Tess was talking about.

"OH hold on! I'll be right back!" Tess exclaimed and went into a back room, coming back with a huge gun the about the same size of her. "This is my baby. It sports a multi-port, large-bore, gyro-burst launcher, with blow-back breech assist, using full jacket, eco-depleted, armor-piercing slugs, and a continuous kill zone scanner for tight groupings at a high-cycle rate of fire." Jak stared at Tess, as she held the gun up and looked through the scope. "Hee hee… it's a hobby. Krew just wanted me to get business for the bar, don't know why though."

Jak blinked and grinned. "This has mods right?"

"Of course! Scatter gun, Vulcan and Peace Maker! This is the pea shooter one, so it needs Yellow Eco ammo. But you would know that already of course!"

"Thanks Tess, this is going to help a lot when I get into the Industrial area."

"Industrial area? In that case… I want you to protect my baby with this. Or else I will hunt you down and hurt you REAL bad. Okay?"

"Got it," Jak said, a slight gulp following.

"Wow! I didn't know you had so much … RAWR!"

"There's lots of things you don't know about me," Tess said and giggled, returning to her work. "Bring him back safe Jak!"

Jak nodded as he walked out.

"Okay, so what's the deal?" Daxter asked, following Jak down the street. "You never need me to do anything."

"You'll see."

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Well, if you really want to know, you're going to ride a rocket around the Port and right before you reach the barricade you're going to jump off. But you have to make sure that the rocket will actually hit the barricade."

"And I have to do this? Why doesn't it have a remote control?"

"Rocket didn't come with one. Look, I think Jinx set some speed boosters around the Port, so you'll know exactly where to go."

"Where's the barricade at?" Daxter asked, looking around. "I don't see any see-through walls around here."

"It's by the Industrial area. You were wasted when Torn and I were talking about it."

"How do we get there again?"

"The way we just came from Daxter. Look, just follow the speed boosters and you will do just fine okay?"

"Uh…okay?"

"Don't worry. Just think, Tess will worship you forever."

Daxter's eyes bugged out a little. "Really? OH GOOD SWEET PRECURSORS LET'S GO!" Daxter yelled and scampered forward, getting to the Naughty Ottsel before Jak.

Jak stood beside the rocket and pointed out the speed boosters to Daxter. "Now Daxter you have to…"

"I'LL HANDLE THIS!" Daxter yelled and jumped onto the rocket and was propelled forward.

"…be careful." Jak shook his head as he watched the rocket go all around the Port, hitting the speed boosters and make its way over to the barricade. "Should have known this "heroic act" would have gone to his head," Jak mumbled as he pulled out the JET-Board to go back over to the barricade. It wouldn't have been much longer till Daxter reached the barricade.

* * *

Veger stared at the blinking dot on the map. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no! Not the barricade!"

He quickly zoomed in the map and low and behold the red gate that had once blocked the Port from the Industrial area was in pieces, fire still blooming off of the rubble.

He growled as he saw the blond renegade that had once again ruined a perfect plan that had taken him years to create. "I'm going to get that little brat and throw him back out. He will not get back into this city!"

* * *

Jak stood over Daxter with a smirk.

"You didn't tell me that it was going to be painful dismounting," he grumbled and slowly peeled himself off of the ground.

"I did tell you to be careful though."

Daxter grumbled under his breath and Jak shook his head with a grin. "Come on Dax, let's cause a little bit of trouble in the Industrial sector. Time to figure out what's going on."

"Like we're going to learn anything new," Daxter huffed and sat on Jak's shoulder, clinging tightly to the shoulder plate as the renegade sprinted into the sector and used the gun that Tess had recently given him with joy. "Well at least the gun works."

"Of course it does. Tess is a genius."

Daxter grinned and nodded. "Yes. Yes she is. And she's allllll mine."

Jak chuckled slightly and continued making his way through the sector, leaving behind a path of destroyed KG robots. "Well, whoever is running the KG army is probably pissed off," Jak mused and looked around.

The sector looked generally the same. It was always covered in explosion since the area was a testing region more than anything. That and this was where Jak usually lost the KG whenever they had started chasing him. He chortled at the memories and Daxter sighed.

"Let's get back to Torn. I'm sure he's going to want to know that the mission was success."

"Yeah, and I'd love to give him a piece of my mind!"

Jak pulled out the JET-Board and floated down the streets back to the Port. Members of the Freedom League were flooding into the newly freed sector and he heard shouts of victory although they hadn't done anything.

"Jak, if you're in the Industrial area stay there. I have a mission for you," Torn said as Jak's communicator came to life.

"What is it?"

"There are sniper cannons that are coming to life in there. Take them out. I can't afford to lose anymore men."

Daxter groaned. "Of course!"

"They will counter attack you. You know the routine."

"Yeah," Daxter retorted. "We do all the work, you get all the credit!"

Torn chuckled as the communicator died down.

Jak did a 180 on the Board and sped past the soldiers, heading straight into the sniper guns that he had avoided multiple times while on the run. It was going to be sweet revenge to finally destroy those unmanned guns that had given him more than one close encounter with a bullet.

* * *

Jak entered the Naughty Ottsel with a sigh. Dropping off Daxter had been another lovely encounter with Tess and her oh so loving affections to Daxter. It definitely wasn't how he wanted to spend the last hour with them playing house with words, especially considering that Tess was blocking the entrance and he did not, under any circumstances, want to anger her since he was positive that she had some slight anger issues.

Torn looked up at him as he dragged his feet across the floor.

"Finally out of steam?" Torn asked, a smug grin pasted onto his tattooed face.

"Not in the mood Torn," Jak grumbled and made his way to the bar.

"Sucks doesn't it? Not having all the energy in the world."

"Oh, I'm sure I have it all, it's just that I've been in Spargus, through the catacombs and fighting a legit war since I woke up at six a day ago. Excuse me if I am going through sleep deprivation."

"Good luck sleeping in those booths," Torn said and watched Jak slide onto the bar stool. "They are anything but comfortable."

"Slept in them before. Can't be any worse than the bunks at the Underground hideout or even an ally way."

Torn nodded and Jak looked at himself in the mirror behind the bar. Had the bags under his eyes been there the entire time? He was sure that he looked like death warmed over.

He moaned and felt his head bob down to sleep against his will.

"Go to sleep Jak. You need it," Torn said and Jak jumped at the sound of his voice. "You can't keep going like you used to be able to."

Jak sighed and stood up, moving slowly to the nearest booth and slid into it. Carefully he laid down and closed his eyes. The hum of the computer filled the room with sound, as did Torn's musings on battle strategies.

There was still a lot left to do. Jak could hear him talking about taking the Metal Head front, but it was battled with how badly they needed to back to HQ. Jak wanted to get back to HQ, the Metal Heads weren't much of an issue as far as he could tell.

He finally fell asleep with that battle strategy running through his mind.

* * *

"Come here baby."

Jak looked up. Who just said that? He looked down at himself and saw that his hands were too small and chubby to be his own, and he didn't recognize the clothing he wore at all. Everything about him was just too small.

"Come on. Walk to mommy," the voice said and Jak looked up at it. There was Danielle, his mother. He gasped and slowly stood up. Was this a memory?

He took a shaky step forward and she giggled in excitement. Why was she so happy? He could walk couldn't he? He looked down at his feet and thought long and hard about his next step. He was really shaky. What if he fell?

"Come on Mar, keep walking to mommy," his mother cooed and he looked at her again. He needed to be with her. He continued walking without looking down at his feet. If he fell, he fell and he would just get right back up again.

"There, you have it! Come on!" she said and Jak frowned. Why was she getting farther away?

He wanted to yell at her to stop, but the words wouldn't form in his throat. No. He needed to get to her. He kept going, the thought of just giving up running through his mind. Finally he started to run to her and she ran away from him.

_What? No!_

He finally stopped and stared at her. She stopped as well and they just stared at each other. Jak finally broke the gaze and looked down at himself as to why she could possibly be running away from him. He was now in his dark form.

"No. I'm not a monster! Please don't run!" he pleaded and she started to back away. He shook his head in denial and fell to his knees and started to sob. "Don't leave me," he sobbed and his knees came out from under him and he sat on his butt, starting to rock.

"Mar," she said, suddenly by him, "mommy will never leave you."

Jak looked up at her with tears still streaming down his face. "You," he hiccupped, "won't ever leave me?"

"That's right. I will never leave you." She seemed so sure of herself. She wrapped her warms around him and he no longer felt like he was in his dark form. He looked down at his hands and they were normal sized and colored. "Be strong for me, okay? And don't give your father a headache, okay?"

"He doesn't see me for who I am. How am I supposed to just go to him?"

"He will see. Don't worry," she said and rubbed his back. "I love you Jak."

* * *

Jak bolted up right and panted as he looked around. "What the?" he asked and got out of the booth, stretching out his limbs.

"Good, you're up. I need you to do something," Torn said and Jak groaned. "Don't give me that."

"What?" Jak snapped and walked over to the map. "More runs through the Industrial sector? Go through the sewers to get to the Metal Head sector?"

"Bingo."

"What?"

"Go through the sewers to get the Metal Heads. We need them weakened."

"And how do you expect me to weaken an entire army by myself?"

"I don't. I need you to blow open that barricade from the other side."

Jak frowned. Today was going to be another long day.

* * *

**Oh yeah, looky there, AN UPDATE! You don't see those all the time. XD**

**Got some time on my hands and I wanted to do a dream sequence of Jak and Danielle except it was more or less a nightmare. **

**I realize that Jak is crying a lot. I don't care right now. It is just his subconscious. And when Danielle came up to him at the end he was in a smaller form, he just didn't notice. Oh the creative liberties I have over this train wreck just waiting to happen.**


	22. Chapter TwentyOne First Impressions

**EmbyrEye: It is so nice to be able to actually reply to you. I feel like it's been waaaay too long since my last update and I'm very sorry for that – to all of you lovely readers to by the way! :D I'm very glad that you liked how Tess worshiped Daxter and how it inspired him, it worked. And hopefully Jak's little roller coaster ride will get better for him, not sure yet. We'll see when we get there. :D**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Yes, I did give Light Jak feathery wings. I didn't really like the tentacle wings and there is a pre-Light Jak in the strategy guide with feathery wings and it's a really good concept and it's one that I wish they had kept. It would have made Light Jak look more like an angel in my opinion and make the people of Haven believe him to be an angel and worship him because he is there only hope. Or something along those lines…**

**I just hope that all of you enjoy this chapter! It was a lot of fun to write mainly because of the lines that I gave Daxter. And I did some nice character development for said ottsel. It felt like he wasn't getting some of the credit he deserved and Daxter is a lot smarter than he looks.**

Chapter Twenty One – First Impressions

_"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7_

* * *

"Oh my God! This is so gross!" Daxter yelled as he scampered down the tunnel along side Jak.

"I know."

"Why are we even doing this? Because Tattooed Wonder up there said so? It's bull!"

"I know."

"I mean, ever since we joined the Underground all we've ever gotten are the shitty jobs! Why not send some newbie – other than us – to do the dirty jobs? It's not like we can do everything!"

"I know."

"And come on! Send us to the Metal Heads? That's like giving the monsters a tasty treat on a silver platter. Do you see this fur? I take care of it and now look at it! It's a mess because Torn had to send us down here to infiltrate the freaking Metal Heads."

"I kn… No. Daxter, we are not some tasty treat. We went to the Metal Head nest on our own with no one else. I'm pretty sure we can do this without any issues."

"No. Torn just wants to torture us."

"We're helping win a war."

"Not good enough. I'm sick of doing all the crappy jobs and not getting any credit!"

"Well then when we get back you can tell the entire bar and anyone who will listen that yes, we went in alone and infiltrated the Metal Head sector and did it with out a single soul. I will be your proof or whatever it is you need, since I'm sure I'll be the one with the bandages."

Daxter seemed to muse on this brought up proposition. "I can tell them anything about what happened?"

"I don't see why not. You do anyways."

"Sweet! I have a new story for Tess when we get back! Awesome!"

Jak rolled his eyes and continued going through the was going to be a long day.

The sound of growling reached Jak and both of them froze. They looked at each other and Daxter jumped onto Jak's shoulder and shook his feet as well as he could before settling down. Jak bounded down the tunnel and froze at the junction, peaking his head around the corner to see what was so close to them.

He blinked in curiosity. There was nothing there.

"Maybe it's further down?" Daxter offered and Jak huffed. He could have sworn that the Metal Heads were right there.

He looked up and didn't see any trying to be sneaky. He frowned and continued, making sure to look behind him again and again to be sure that nothing was behind them.

"It would be our luck to have to worry about Metal Heads getting smart! I mean, how on earth are they even surviving without Kor? I thought that he was their life force!"

"That's what I thought, but Samos said differently. I guess that maybe they have a new way of creating Metal Heads?"

"Great! Just great! That is exactly what we all need right now! I mean, the Wasteland Metal Heads are so much tougher and they never seem to want to go down and now there are Metal Heads that finally figured out how to reproduce! This is just great! Just wait till we tell Torn and Ashelin! They'll leap for joy!"

Jak scoffed at Daxter's sarcasm. It was nice every once in a while, but it got old after awhile.

"What else could be here?" Daxter asked and Jak raised a brow at him. "I mean, what's here that the Freedom League can't beat? It's just Grunts! It seems that that was the only Metal Head over by the barrier in the Port! They just take what, maybe three well placed head shots?"

Jak bit his lip in wonder. "How did they completely take the Bazaar?" he asked and looked up at Daxter. "They were losing the war way before the Palace fell. What on earth happened?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you did. It's not like the shield walls were down or anything, unless it had to do completely with that door in the Under Port, but that doesn't make any sense considering that the Metal Heads took over the Stadium and the Bazaar! Those places aren't anywhere near the Port area!"

Daxter was making some pretty valid points. Jak glared ahead as he thought on what the ottsel was saying.

"There are a lot of things that just aren't making any sense Dax," Jak said and his boot fell into a large puddle of sludge.

Daxter snickered and Jak groaned. "I definitely didn't miss this," Jak grumbled as he pulled his foot back out of the sludge and shit, making a loud sucking noise as his foot was freed.

The sound of multiple Metal Head growls reached them and Jak huffed. "Sounds like we're finally gonna see some action Dax. Better hold on tight."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Daxter said, hanging on as tightly as he could as Jak sprinted ahead and pulled out the gun that Tess had given them.

Jak grinned as he released the floating machine gun and the bullets did all the carnage that he could have done with his claws if he felt so inclined to use them.

This day was quickly picking up.

* * *

Jak slowly walked out of the exit into the Metal Head area and his jaw dropped.

"I take back what I said about the Stadium being bad," Jak said and looked around. This was bad.

What was once a living green area, an oasis away from all the smog and smoke and terrible parts of the city was now a living death area. The road that so many times Jak had walked along was now a river of pure acid. He took tentative steps toward the edge and jumped as an acid bubble popped and spit acid up at him.

"I agree," Daxter said and shuddered from his perch on Jak's shoulder. "Please tell me that the ground isn't eating your boots."

Jak lifted his left foot and the bottom was still whole. "I think we're good. At least for now… I am not testing that river for you though."

"Fair enough," Daxter replied and raised his hands in defense. "What exactly are we doing again? Torn didn't really say."

"I think we're just supposed to break through the barrier. Though I don't know why either."

"You think Samos will call in the nick of time and say, 'Oh while you're there, get rid of some Dark Eco plants!' or 'Gather me some Green Eco while your out, we're running low here.' I can go on and on. You know this."

Jak scoffed in amusement. Daxter's impression of Samos was getting better.

"I'm glad you're enjoying this!" Daxter exclaimed and Jak shook his head. "What you want more? Cause I can give you more!"

"No, I'm fine. If you really want something to do, why don't you get on the communicator and get a hold of some one at the HQ in New Haven. It's not like they have anything to worry about."

Daxter glared at him and grumbled as he dug through Jak's pack looking for the communicator. "Do you have their number?" he asked and made a triumphant noise as he pulled out the device.

"There should be a few in there. Ashelin was the one that contacted me. I can only assume that she was using the main communicator there at HQ."

Daxter grumbled as he turned on the communicator and there were three blaring notifications that held messages. "Do you ever leave this thing on?" Daxter yelled and Jak looked around again for Metal Heads to make sure that none had snuck up on them. "I mean, seriously! They could all be missions for us to do while we're here! I would rather not have to come back to this hell hole unless we absolutely need to! And even then I don't want to!"

Daxter played each message and they were in fact messages from Samos and Ashelin. "Of course. I told you that Samos was gonna have us do something! And low and behold it is in fact about destroying some damn Dark Eco Plants! Do you know how many of those that we've killed in our life?"

Jak rolled his eyes and spotted one that was relatively close. "Come on Dax, we have some Dark Eco plants that need pruned."

Daxter groaned and hung on as Jak pulled the JET-Board out and slid across a vine that held them.

Jak stood there for a moment as he considered what to do with the large plant that was five times his size. "You think their life support comes from the Dark Eco plants?" he asked and looked at Daxter for a moment.

"I don't know. Maybe? I mean they are monsters. They could probably live off of shit and still live."

Jak snorted and fought to laugh.

"What? It's the truth! And it's not that funny!"

"It's just how you said it Dax. That's all. And I dare you to give that reason to Samos."

Daxter frowned and pouted as Jak continued to snicker as he went around the plant thinking of ways to dismantle the plant.

"Why don't you just leave a bomb or something? Or shoot at it from a distance?" Daxter offered and Jak sighed.

"I can't leave a bomb because I don't have one. And I really don't want to shoot at it because it might draw attention that we don't really want."

"Well, what if you touch it? Remember those HUGE Dark Eco crystals in that mine by the Red Eco Sage's hut? Those started going off just by touching it. Maybe these are the same? They look like they have enough Dark Eco in them to be the same."

Jak pursed his lips for a moment and then punched the plant. The plant started to move in anger and pulsed brightly. "Shit!" Jak yelled and jumped onto the JET-Board and slid across another vine that led to a small island in the middle of the river of acid.

They watched from their little island and the plant did indeed blow up as Daxter had predicted.

"Wow. Way to go Dax," Jak said and Daxter smiled smugly.

"I do my best," Daxter commented and smirked as Jak slid across another vine that led to another plant.

This day was just getting better and better.

* * *

Jak walked up to the last large Dark Eco plant. He had destroyed the others as he made his way through the large Metal Head area.

In his mind he could see the old farmers district as clear as if he as walking through it.

"Jak… this is really bad," Daxter said as they came up to the last plant.

"I know."

"I mean, really, really bad. You think the stadium area looks bad, then your nuts. There are eggs everywhere! Look at how destroyed this place is!"

"I know, Daxter," Jak replied and looked around to make sure no Metal Heads had snuck up on them. "I don't think that any one has been able to get in here. Hell we had to through the sewers and that was bad."

"Well they have cruisers! Why don't they just fly over?"

"You think they want to risk a cruiser when they probably don't have many to begin with?"

"Well no, but they could still fly over just to see!"

"And fly over a war zone with that KG factor spitting out more and more robots? I wouldn't even do that and I'm pretty gutsy Dax."

"Ugh! Fine! Can we get out of here now? Please!"

"Hold on!"

Daxter humphed and slouched on Jak's shoulder plate. "I miss Spargus. At least that place was warm all year long! It's almost freaking winter!"

Jak blinked. It was fall? He looked up at the sky and he did notice that the clouds seemed to be more accumulated. Was it going to actually snow?

"Will you just get rid of this stupid plant please? I want to go back to the Naughty Ottsel and get warm around a nice warm glass of liquor."

"Yes," Jak said and punched the plant for the last time that day. He was so sick of these stupid plants and he highly doubted that this was going to be the last time he was going to see Dark Eco plants again.

His fist was suddenly enveloped in the plant and a bright flash of Dark Eco enveloped him throwing Daxter off.

"What the hell?"

Jak grunted as the Dark Eco over took his body and forced the transition. His hands flashed to his dark form and then the rest of his body followed in the violent overtaking. He looked at his hands glowing the same as the plants had before they blew up. An instinct over took him and he threw his hands forward, propelling a bomb at the huge wall that acted as a barricade between the Port and the Metal Head district.

"Wow… that is relatively useful," Daxter mused and Jak looked at him. "Well it is! Don't give me that look!"

Jak blinked and shook his head as he slowly transited back to his normal form.

"That was not fun," he said with a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose for clarity.

"I bet, but look! The barricade is gone!"

Jak smirked and shook his head as he jogged through the destruction and back to the Naughty Ottsel. He stopped short when he saw a white flake fall in front of him.

"Oh wow…" Daxter said and looked up. It was snowing. They looked up in wonder and just watched as the snow fell from the sky, landing softly on their skin and hair.

Jak felt his jaw drop slightly and he sighed, watching his breath leave in a thick fog.

"It's actually snowing," Jak sighed and started walking back to the Naughty Ottsel again.

"I don't even remember it ever snowing here! Wow! This is a first!" Daxter exclaimed and laughed. "I bet Torn is just having a hay day now that there is snow! And I bet that the soldiers are just freaking out!"

"Snow can't be that rare here can it?"

"I guess it is. The pollution is terrible here and the smog never let it really snow cause it was just so thick, ya know?"

"I guess."


	23. Chapter Twenty Two Perfect

**Hi guys! This one is long! That way when I stop again it won't be that bad. I have everything planned out. Don't worry about that. More or less at least.**

**EmbyrEye: You are older than me! Seems kind of out of place to me. AND I'VE MISSED YOU TOO! I had a very nice Christmas and New Years, they could have been filled with more of my friends from home, but whatever I'll live. I'm very glad that you liked that part. I'm also glad that I'm doing a good job with the character development, went out with a blind step on that one and I'm glad it landed somewhere good. About Damas, we will find out in the next chapter, I'm thinking of doing a Spargus centered chapter and your review gave me the idea. And I'm glad that your teacher taught you MLA! It will save you life when it comes to research papers!**

**Anon: Don't worry, it will happen all in good time.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Yes it is snowing. There is a lack of snow for some reason this year and it is kind of depressing to me. But it doesn't snow that often in Haven because of all the smog and how thick the pollution is. Rain can get through, but I don't think the snow would get very far. And I don't think Jak is going to get any kind of melee weapon, sorry, but he will start using the gun a lot more and may use his dark form a little bit less. And I will update again when I have time to get another chapter out of me. This one was awkward enough as it is.**

**The Trio of Twilight: Reviewing for multiple chapters in one are we? Yes, Seem is getting some major points in this story. I didn't really like her working for Veger and I figured why not make it even more interesting. I'm glad that you liked the rocket part, making comedy can be entertaining, especially when it comes to Daxter and Torn together. I do too, but that may or may not happen. It will be a very dramatic scene that much I can tell you. And like I said to JakMartheDarkWarrior, an update will happen when it happens. I can't promise much, but I can promise that that there will be more chapters again. **

Chapter Twenty-Two - Perfect

_"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side." Psalm 3:5-6_

* * *

The bar was unusually packed as the duo walked in. "Ah there are the victims!" a voice called out and they looked at each other.

Jak marched over to where Torn was and glared at him. "What about us being victims?" he yelled and Torn chuckled.

"They are surprised that you made it through the Metal Head sector, but I knew you could make it. They owe me money."

"Right. Nice to know that people were betting on us dying," Daxter snapped and crossed his arms in a huff. "When have we ever just laid back and died when it came to Metal Heads?"

"They haven't been here long enough," Torn reasoned and shook his head. "Anyways, while you were gone Jinx has been busy."

"Busy with what?" Jak asked and his glare lessened only slightly.

"Busy with a way for us to get back to HQ, but he's not ready yet."

"Course not. Let Jinx take his time. I want food," Jak said and went into the back of the bar to go look for his and Daxter's dinner.

"Three… Two… One…"

"What the fuck?" Daxter screamed and he came scampering out throwing curse words at Torn and Jinx.

Jak came back out with one of the small KG robots sitting on his shoulder nuzzling him. Snickers started to come from everyone and Jak looked at the little robot. "Why is it docile?"

"That would be my handiwork!" Jinx said and leaned against the bar. "We were gonna have one of those idjits take control of the big one I have in the storage at the gun range, but none of them have really signed up. And no one has been able to even get close to that one. That one is very picky. Consider yourself lucky."

"That's nice to know."

"Yeah well, if ya want you could totally take the controls of that big one and then we could blow up that last barricade! It will be so EPIC!"

Jak looked at Daxter and the ottsel shrugged. "I don't care, so long as that thing stays away from me."

The little robot jumped off of Jak's shoulder and crawled over to Daxter, making odd purring noises.

"Aw, I think the little monster likes you too Dax," Jak teased and laughed.

"Not funny! Now, get off!" Daxter yelled and pushed the robot off of him.

"Alright, now where do I go to take control over this bigger robot?"

"Right here. I have a controller linked up that you can use that will direct the robot and you can use all the big guns on it too! I didn't destroy those too much. But all you have to do is lead it right into the gate and BAM! that thing will be blown to kingdom come!"

"How?"

"I packed that thing full of explosives, so don't take too much damage, otherwise the robot will be blown up to soon and I really don't want to have to go through the trouble of getting another one, thank you very much."

"Got it. And how am I gonna see where this thing is going anyways?"

"With the cameras that we finally have linked up with," Torn said. "It won't be easy, but we've tried making sure that we can move the cameras that way you can see and Jinx said early that the robot has it's own self defenses, so if the other robots do start to attack you, which they shouldn't since the robot looks exactly the same as when he grabbed it, the robot will automatically just start shooting at them."

"Well I guess that's good. I mean what could go wrong?" Jak asked and Daxter started to laugh. "What?"

"Our little buddy just took a piss on Torn!"

Torn looked down at his feet and the small robot that had taken a liking to Jak had in fact leaked motor oil all around his feet.

"I'm gonna kill it!"

The robot scampered away and hid behind Jak. "Do you think Keira would like it?" Daxter asked and looked up at Jak.

"Maybe," he answered and grabbed the remote from Jinx. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

"Woo!" Daxter exclaimed as the barricade exploded. "Way to go Jak!"

The little robot chimed just as Daxter did and the ottsel laughed. "I'm gonna learn to love this little guy!"

"You can keep him!" Torn yelled and went to the computer in the center of the bar. "Head out to HQ, try not to get yourself killed with all the chaos that you've caused, ya hear me?"

"You got it Torn," Jak said and tossed the controller onto the bar top. The robot jumped up at Jak and he picked it up giving it a slightly annoyed look. "You better be worth it."

He opened the pack on his leg and slid the small robot into it. "Stay there," he ordered and it whirred in what he assumed was agreement. "Get on Dax, we're going to HQ."

"You got it!" Daxter exclaimed as he jumped up and Jak ran out of the Naughty Ottsel. "And just think, we're only a zoomer ride away from finally seeing Keira and ol' greeny!"

Jak grinned and pulled out the JET-Board and jetted past groups of soldiers that were making their way to New Haven and the Slums.

"And just think you finally get to really see that big ol' belly of hers! I wonder if she's gotten any bigger since we saw her like two weeks ago. She looked like she was about to explode!"

Jak gulped then.

"I'm sure she didn't though. Remember all those ladies from Sandover that had kids? They were like five times bigger than what Keira is right now!"

"Yeah," he said and frowned as he maneuvered his way through the Slums.

"It's been a while since we've been through here," Daxter mumbled and Jak nodded.

"I wonder if Mai-Ann is still here."

"I don't know. We could ask when we get to HQ," Daxter replied and was quiet the rest of the way to HQ. "Now or never."

Jak nodded and walked inside, the hallway seemed daunting as he took careful steps.

"Jak?"

He turned to the voice and relief seemed to go through him in waves.

"Keira."

He ran up to her and enveloped her in a hug. She heaved in sobs as she held onto him with all her strength.

Daxter jumped off and looked around, keeping his gaze away from the two.

"Oh I have waited so long to finally hold you," she gasped and Jak stroked her back. "Best day ever."

Jak smiled and closed his eyes.

She still smelt like Sandover and machine oil.

"I've missed you so much," he whispered and suddenly felt a kick from her stomach. "What was that?"

"Oh!" she said and wiped away her tears. Jak brushed his thumb over her cheeks and smiled at her. "That's the baby. She has some power to her. Just like you."

Jak let the corner of his mouth rise into a smile and he looked at her stomach. "How far along are you?"

"Thirty four weeks. In about three weeks or so this little thing will be out."

Jak blinked and gulped. "Don't worry; everything is going to be fine."

"I want you in Spargus," he said suddenly and Keira licked her lips nodding.

"I will go with you after she's born. I know you don't trust Haven and I don't any more than you do, but I trust the doctor that I've been seeing. She knows what she's doing."

"So do the doctors in Spargus!"

"But I don't know them. Jak please, Daddy thinks that there might be something wrong with her because of the Dark Eco in you."

"What do you mean?"

"He said that babies don't react to Eco the same as kids do. That's all he said, but I've been freaking out basically."

Jak frowned and put his hands on her belly. "She will be fine," he said and she smiled up at him.

"Thank you," she said and gave him a kiss.

"Wow, would you look at the time," Daxter chimed and the robot in Jak's pack whirred in excitement. "Where is the whole gang anyways?"

Keira rolled her eyes and answered, "Up the elevator. I'll take you there in a minute if you want. What was the whirring sound?"

"Oh!" Jak exclaimed and opened the pack, pulling out the small robot. "This thing."

"Why do you have that?"

"Jinx caught it and turned off all the death and destruction in it or something. We were about to eat and the thing jumped on me and for some reason likes me way too much for my own liking. It even likes Daxter, so there must be something wrong with it."

"I am much more lovable than you!" Daxter retorted and Jak rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, we brought it to show it to you and also because Torn hates it."

Keira looked at it and held out her hand. It nuzzled her and she blinked in surprise. "Well… that's definitely odd. Here," she said and took the robot from Jak, holding it like an animal. "Ya know, that crocadog is still here."

Jak bit his lip and looked around. "Is he here?"

"He's up in my quarters. No one here likes him, but he has taken a liking to me, so I put up with him. He'll be very happy to see you."

"I bet," Jak said and looked at the robot in Keira's arms. "That thing sure likes you too."

"Probably because I smell like oil. I haven't done a lot in the garage recently, but I try to stay busy. Sleeping has been hell these last few weeks."

"Why?"

"She likes to dance at night which causes me to have to pee a lot. And I just can't get comfy any more."

"Anything I can do to help?" he asked and Keira smiled.

"I'm sure there is always something you could do to help. Its dinner time anyways, you want to skip the ugly argument upstairs and just go straight to the mess hall?"

"Food?" Daxter asked and jumped onto Jak's shoulder in one leap. "Lead the way!"

Keira laughed and walked down the hall to the mess hall. "Have at it boys," she said and even Jak could feel drool forming in his mouth. Daxter bounded off of his shoulder and leapt across tables as he made a mad dash toward the food.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jak asked and looked at Keira.

"Nah, I will be later though," she answered and followed him to a table and sat down. "I'll be right here while you get food."

Jak nodded and went up to the buffet that Daxter was wreaking havoc over. "Leave some for everyone Dax," he teased and he got the bird from him.

He grabbed what he wanted and went back over to Keira, she smiled at him and he sighed. "I don't think I'll ever get used to you being by me again."

"Well you better!" she teased and the robot whirred again. "This thing needs a name if we're going to be keeping it."

It whirred at her and nuzzled her hand. She chuckled slightly at the innocent action that the robot was doing.

"I don't really care, it's just a robot," Jak said and took a bite of the meal sitting before him. He groaned in bliss and Keira smiled. "Can we completely avoid them?" he asked nodded up to where he believed the HQ meeting room was.

"Yeah," she answered and picked at some of the noodles on his plate.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry."

"Not hungry enough to eat a full meal. I snack through out the day now. It's probably not the healthiest thing, but whatever."

Jak shrugged and surrendered his noodles to her. She smiled and rubbed her stomach. He looked through the corner of his eye and gulped.

"I'm sorry."

Keira blinked and gave him a curious look. "What are you sorry about?" she asked and he nodded at her stomach. "Jak, I'm not, so you have no need to be sorry about her."

"It's my fault."

"And I urged you on. Jak, this is my fault as much as it is yours. Don't feel sorry about something that was caused because of my actions."

Jak looked away and jammed his fork into the piece of yakow meat he had.

"Come on. Let's get out of here before they all come," she said and pulled Jak out of his seat.

Jak followed her and the small robot followed obediently.

"I'm gonna sick of this thing," Jak mumbled and looked back to see that robot was still following.

"I think he's cute. It's not often that you see one of those robots without worrying about whether or not there is going to be a full out war in mere minutes. Especially here."

"Don't the barricades block them all out?"

"Mostly the big ones," she answered and smiled back at him. "But now that the barricade is down I'm not sure how well we're going to be able to fight back."

"If you are going to be in danger I'll find a way for the barricade to be put back up."

"No. Don't. We were doing just fine before Veger put those barricades up and now that we are going to have all of our forces back together we can finally push them back enough to maybe destroy them. It's for the better."

Jak nodded and Keira stopped in front of a door, opening it with a key card. "Come on."

Jak walked in behind her and was attacked by the crocadog. "Oof!"

He fell backwards and Keira laughed, scooping up the robot and sitting down on the bed.

"I told you that he missed you!"

"And we haven't even named him. He was always with my younger self."

"I know. I've been calling him Rex and he seems to have taken a liking to it, but if you want to change it we can."

"That's perfect," he said and scratched Rex behind the ears and his belly. "Have you been a good boy?"

Rex barked and licked him along the side of Jak's face.

"You have definitely gotten bigger," he grumbled and wiped as much of the slobber off his face as he could with the sleeve of his shirt.

"I'm not sure how big they normally get but when I asked around people said they grew to be about the size of a yakow calf."

"Geeze that's huge!" Jak said and stood up, pushing the crocadog off of him and moving to sit by Keira.

She yawned and Jak sighed. "Are you going to stay here while you are in Haven?" she asked and Jak smiled.

"I would hope so. It's bound to be ten times better than the booths at the Naughty Ottsel."

Keira smiled and leaned against him. "Do you want to feel her?" she asked and Jak stiffened for a moment before relaxing. "She might kick for you."

"I don't want her to hurt you."

"She's fine. Like I said, she's a dancer if I've ever felt one. She doesn't like it when I'm in the meeting room though, she starts kicking like crazy."

"How do you know she isn't a he?" he asked and Keira smiled. "What?"

"I don't. I just don't want to call her, or him, an it. It's inhumane."

"Makes sense," Jak replied and looked at the crocadog that was sitting at his feet as if waiting for permission to jump onto the bed. He then looked at the robot that had made its home in Keira's tool kit. "What a crazy family," he mumbled and Keira cocked her head in curiosity.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked and Jak nodded. "Good. I've missed you." She hugged him and he wrapped his arm around her.

"I've missed you too."

"I can smell the ocean on you."

Jak smiled and nodded. "I live right by it in Spargus. Well, I live with Madeline and Flynn and their baby Danielle, but it's a really nice place Keira. You'll love it there."

Keira smiled and Jak put his other hand on her stomach, gently rubbing his thumb over the material of her shirt. Keira grinned and nuzzled her face against his chest. "I know you'll be a good father Jak."

Jak gulped and nodded. "I'm bound to be better than mine." Keira blinked and looked at Jak with a curious look. "You'll find out soon, don't worry. Let's go to bed." Keira nodded.

Jak stood up and peeled off all of his armor tossing it into a corner. Keira watched him and he took off his shirt. She smiled and kicked off her shoes watching Jak do the same.

She stood up and pulled the covers back on the bed. She sat down by the pillows and watched Jak as he sat next to her again. "Please tell me that this will stop being awkward," she said and Jak chuckled a little and nodded. "Good, cause you haven't relaxed at all. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything has just taken me by surprise is all," he answered and looked at her with a small smile. "Everything is fine; I just wish you were in Spargus is all."

"Well as soon as she is kicking and screaming outside of my stomach, we will all be in Spargus. Is it really like Sandover?"

Jak pulled her into his embrace and nodded. "Sandover is a lot like Sandover. The beach is amazing and the people are so much more welcoming. I haven't met a person you wouldn't like. Except maybe Kleiver, he's a work of art, reminds me a little bit of Krew."

Keira groaned and grimaced at the reminder of the monster that Krew was. "I'll be sure to avoid him."

"Good plan," Jak replied and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed a kiss against her shoulder and rested his head there. "I've missed you so much."

Keira smiled and nodded. "I missed you too. Tell me more about Spargus. And a back massage."

"Put to work am I?"

"Yes."

"Fine," he surrendered and started his small ministrations against her back. She groaned in bliss and Jak smiled. "Well it's hot. Summer there is like being in the lava tube or fire canyon, but manageable. Sand everywhere, but you get used to it. The beach front has a market filled with all the fruit and vegetables that you need and on Wednesday they have meat for us. It's all salted though so then it doesn't go bad in the heat, but can be cooked just fine. Joel and Susan will love you, as will Flynn and Maddie."

"Who are they?"

"Flynn is the one that took me in, he and Maddie just had a baby recently and Dani is the cutest thing I've seen in a long time."

"Cuter than me?"

"No, but close."

"And Joel and Susan?"

"Guess now is a better time than any," he mumbled and sighed. "You know about how the king before Praxis was banished to the Wasteland right?" She nodded. "Well the younger version of me was his son, which means that I'm his son." She nodded again. "King Damas of the Wasteland is my father and Joel is his father in law, my grandfather. Susan is, according to her, my nana."

Keira snorted in laughter. "Nana? Is she demanding you to call her that?"

"Much against my will."

She continued to laugh and leaned against him. "I'd love to meet them. Are they taking care of Daxter?"

"Yes, very much so," Jak answered and put his hands on her stomach. "What do you think she'll look like?"

"Well, in all honesty I'm hoping she has your eyes and ears."

Jak nodded and froze as he felt a small kick. "Woah."

"Told you that she had some kick," she teased and put her hand over Jak's.

"That you did."

Rex whined at the side of the bed, his muzzle resting on the mattress.

"Come on up," Keira said and patted the bed. His ears perked up and he jumped up, nuzzling her stomach and then resting his head on the round mound of her belly. She laughed and scratched him behind the ears, his tongue lolled out and Jak smiled. "Are we going to be able to bring him to Spargus?"

"I don't see why not. Maybe Damas will really see who I am then."

Keira nodded. "I have some names picked out. Wanna hear them?"

"Sure."

"Well for a boy I have Phoenix Mar picked out and for a girl I have Maria Rarity chosen." Keira turned her head enough to see Jak's face. "Well?"

Jak smiled and his gut twisted into knots. "They are perfect names."

"Good, cause it took forever," she said and relaxed into his hold again.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three The Light

**Oh how I love anonymous reviewers. Do you know why? Because they stick their tail between their legs, act like the little trolls that they are, try to bring down what little self-esteem that I may have, and write reviews that ruin my day more than what it has already been brought down to. So, I'm making a lovely little point to the reviewer who lovingly calls himself "hello" in the review page and asking: Have you read past the first chapter? Have you really judged the entire story that is still in the works and has advanced my own writing style on a three sentence paragraph? Really? Because I think you need to get a grip on life and stop hiding behind a screen. You may think that you are just so cool telling me that my story sucks, based on a single paragraph alone, but you are so wrong. You see all those other reviews praising it, asking me to update as soon as I can? You won't ever have that because you are nothing but a troll that wants to bring down aspiring authors. So what if I write fan-fiction for right now, at least I'm aiding myself in learning how to write. At least I'm not bringing down other authors by leaving horrible reviews. And you know what, you won't bring me down. You can flame this story all you want, but you won't stop me from updating, and you won't ever be able to stop me. So grow up, face me like a real human, and stop being a troll trying to ruin everyone's lives. Thanks. Have a nice day. I'm sure you just love being put in the spotlight. **

**The Trio of Twilight: I figured. Thanks for reviewing though! It means a lot that you like it so much! **

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked this chapter so much! I probably won't use Dark Jak any less than what I have been. Glad you like Rex and the robot. **

**EmbyrEye: Yes! And I do so enjoy having the crocadog being there. He didn't go with the younger Jak and it was sad not seeing him after the last scene in Jak 2… so here he is! The robot was just for comic relief aside from Daxter. He probably won't last much longer. I'm really glad you liked the names! I knew the boy's name for a while, but the girl's name… oh boy was that fun trying to make it up. Well thank you very much! But I know plenty of people older than me that can't write to save their lives. **

**Bloody Raptor: If you're talking about the flow of this chapter, I know what you're talking about. It's rough. I know. It was bothering me while writing it and making sure it sounded right, but it makes sense that it's a rough flow since Jak and Keira haven't had any real contact with each other in over seven months. Sorry about that. Hopefully this one is much better!**

**Dante0085: Yeah… Um… I have absolutely no idea what you mean. Thanks for reviewing though!**

Chapter Twenty-Three – The Light

_"As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. I will cut of the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up." Psalm 75: 9-10_

* * *

Damas didn't like that Jak was gone. He really didn't like not having any contact with him either and though he knew that he could trust him, it was bothersome that the boy hadn't made any attempts at contact.

"I wish you wouldn't pace like that Damas," Sig said, watching the king walk back and forth in front of the large window.

Damas stopped for a moment, looking at Sig and then continuing his trek.

"If you're worried about the chili pepper, you've got nothing to worry about. Haven has done its fair share against him and I'm sure that as soon as he can get his girl here, he'll be here."

"Other than the girl, why would willingly go there?"

"Probably 'cause he has some hero complex," Sig joked and laughed. "Relax Damas. He'll be back soon."

"Why did he want to return to the girl so badly?"

"He got one past the goalie and he don't know."

Damas froze and looked at Sig. "That angry boy is going to be a father?" he asked incredulously.

"He isn't that angry all the time. He just has some issues. When he's around her he's an entirely different person. And as hard as it may be to see, he's a real softie at heart."

"Why is he so rash? He could have asked for help getting her here."

"She's probably about ready to pop Damas. It wouldn't even be safe for her to come here considering that she's been seeing a Haven doctor and she trusts her. She wouldn't want to be forced here and then see a monk as a doctor. There may be women here that would do that, but she's been slightly spoiled."

"So have almost all the women here that came from Haven yet they trust the monks."

"They didn't have a choice. Jak is giving Keira the choice. Hell, he's probably gonna marry her and if she says no, he'll probably ask her father to kill him."

"Her father is there as well?"

"Yeah, that old sage sure is a character, that's for sure. I've never been more scared of a damn stick in my entire life and the teachers here like to use 'em too."

Damas chuckled for a second. "And this man raised Jak?"

"Eh, not really sure. I can only assume so since they came from the same place and know each other so well," Sig answered and scratched his head for a moment. "Anyways, other than freaking out about Jak and the little cherry, what else are you thinking about?"

"Are you really going to question your king?" Damas asked and raised a brow.

"Hell yes I am. You don't pace unless something is really bothering you and the kid can't be the only thing bothering you."

Damas looked at Sig for a moment before sighing and bowing his head in defeat. "You won't leave if I tell you it's just Jak will you?"

"Hell no, sire."

Damas smiled. "It's something that Jacob had said to me the day Jak told me he was leaving."

"Well what did the crazy man say?"

"He told me that I would really see Jak if I opened my eyes. But my eyes have been open. I see the boy, I see that he is an angry boy, he has been hurt and he has had to go through hell. I see that, but I don't see what Jacob wants me to see."

Sig sighed and bowed his head. "Can I tell you a story?" he asked and Damas looked at him with a curious look. "It has a point."

"Go on then."

"Eons ago when Sandover still stood strong as a simple village, there were two young boys, they ventured off to Misty Island, an island they were told was pure evil and would eat you alive. Going there they found the Acheron siblings, discovered that they were planning on destroying the world and recreating it in their own image with Dark Eco and one of the boys had fallen into a pool of Dark Eco, only to come out as an ottsel. They returned back to their home without consequence and told the Sage what they had discovered. After a stern lesson they set out north to find a Sage that would be able to turn the friend back into a human. Along the way they fought Lurkers and discovered that the same sage they were looking for was the same one that was planning on destroying the world. They beat the siblings and found a time machine. Bringing it back to Sandover, they put it back together and the two friends, the Sage and his daughter got on and turned the rift gate open. They entered and crashed into Haven City, getting separated from each other completely. One of the boys was thrown in prison and had horrible experiments done to him while the others did their best to survive. The boy in prison was freed by his friend and they entered in the civil war against the Baron, in turn finding out about the Metal Head leader, taking him on, the Baron, finding the heir to the throne. In the end they found out the small boy that was a son of Mar was in fact a younger version of himself, they sent him, a younger Sage and the sage's daughter back into the past. The hero still has yet to finish his journey, since the story is incomplete."

Damas stared at Sig. "Why did you tell me this?"

"I was hoping you could find out what had really happened to Jak," Sig answered and looked back at Damas. "Jak is going to kill me when he finds out I told you though."

"And the son of Mar, was he?"

"As far as I know from what Daxter and Samos has said, your son grows up just fine and into a young and honorable hero."

Damas panted for a moment and looked away, looking at the ground as if to ground himself. "Oh god…"

"Damas, do you understand what I told you?" Sig asked and Damas looked up at him.

"That boy is not my son. There is no way."

Sig sighed and nodded. "If you don't believe me you could ask Joel. He knows Jak's story as well, so does Susan."

Damas took heavy breaths. "Who else knows about this?"

"Joel, Susan, probably Jacob, myself and those two boys, now you," Sig answered and gulped. Had he said too much? Had he risked Jak's chance of ever having a real relationship with his father?

"I need proof other than a story that that boy is my son Sig."

"What other proof do you need? A blood test? Oh I'm sure that the boy will just love being poked with more needles after what happened to him. Damas, you may not want to believe it, but that angry boy you are worrying after at this exact moment in time, is your son. He even has Danielle's eyes for Precursor's sake! If that's not proof enough have you looked at his ears. I don't know of any of us that has such a distinct ear. And I've looked at your son's picture enough to know that Jak does have those ears."

Damas panted and leaned against the wall. "Did he go through Mar's Tomb?"

"Yes. He hasn't ever talked about it, but he passed every single test considering that he was able to reach the Precursor Stone, although Praxis did manage to ruin that small victory by breaking in and using his machine to beat Jak."

"I just don't think I can…"

"Damas, have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, you won't get the son that you've been pining after for all these years. That the son you might get is a little bit messed up after living in Haven and on the streets no less? Damas, Jak is a good kid. He's a little hot-headed that's for sure, but all I see is you in him. I also see Danielle. There is no way in hell that Jak would ever disappoint you as a son. All he wants is acceptance."

Damas looked up at Sig suddenly. Sig jumped at the sudden motion.

"No."

"No? Damas, have you been listening?"

"No! I will not accept that my son is that messed up!"

Sig blinked and shook in shock from Damas' outburst. "Damas, Jak is a…"

"No! My son is still alive. And I will go to the depths of hell to get him back if I have to!"

Sig sighed and nodded. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you when Jak comes back from Haven with his head held high, looking like a son of Mar. You may not like the fact that that boy is going to be the closest you get to your son, but he is your son."

Sig turned on his heel and left. It was Jak's turn in the court now. Sig was done playing now.

Damas watched Sig leave and he sagged in defeat. "Is that boy really my son? Is he really that angry and hurting boy?" he asked and hung his head.

He stood back up and made his trek up to where Jacob stayed religiously.

"Jacob?" he asked and saw his dead sister's much older husband.

"OH! It looks like you've requested my advice!" he said and grinned at Damas. "What can I help you with my brother?"

Damas sighed and looked at Jacob with a sad look.

"Oh brother, have you finally seen the light?"

"Jacob, who is Jak to you? Tell me the truth."

Damas waited and clenched his eyes shut. Jacob couldn't lie. He didn't ever fully speak the truth, but nothing he said was ever a lie.

"I see… an angry boy wanting acceptance and never getting it from the one man he wants it from. I see… a lost child pining away for the father that needs to open his arms to him. I see… the son of Mar, lost and confused, angry and deprived, needing the strength of his father to hold him up when he feels beaten."

Damas shuddered from the truth and bowed his head in defeat.

"So Jak is my son?"

Jacob laughed and walked up to Damas. "Oh don't look so defeated fair king. The boy will make you proud. I believe he already has with how strong he is in the arena. Yes?"

"All the men that succeed in the arena make me proud Jacob."

"But Jak makes your heart rise with hope! You worry over him all the time! You think of him whenever you can!"

Damas stood straight, looking down at his brother in law. "Tell me Jacob, how long have you known?"

"Hmm… I would say… probably… when I first met him."

Damas blinked and took a staggering step back. "What?"

"I recognized the face of fear he had when he saw my smile! The child you once had by your side saw me for the first time gave me the exact same look. Eyes tell stories Damas. His may be darker now, but the base look of fear, or shock in his case, are the same no matter what."

Damas sighed and walked over to the wall surrounding them.

"What else is on your mind Damas?"

"How am I supposed to simply accept that boy as my son? I barely know him."

"Well that's what conversation is for silly! Besides, that boy probably doesn't really know all about himself either. So you're both relatively equal in that standing!"

"Is it childish of me to say that I wish my own mother was here to give me advice?"

"No. She would probably smack you upside the head and declare that you are an idiot for not recognizing your own child, but no, it is not childish. Even we adults need our parent's guidance every now and then."

"Thank you Jacob," Damas said and left.

Jacob cocked his head and watch Damas leave. "You will see in time little brother that you won't have much of a choice in the matter when you speak to your father in law. Joel loves that boy dearly, as does Susan."


	25. Chapter Twenty Four Pride

**Hello again! We're going to be spending some time in Spargus. I like building up the character development and also adding more to the dramatic irony all over in this story. It's hard keeping it straight sometimes. Oh the lovely drama.**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you so much! It means so much to receive a positive review from anyone! To your question about the quotes, I started doing that when I first started writing this beast and I attempted to make sure that the quotes had some correlation to the chapter. Alas, not all the quotes have any relation to the chapter, but I do my best.**

**EmbyrEye: I'm not a hundred percent sure how Jak is going to react, I'm sure there will be some relief and some tension, but we'll find out soon-ish… And to your question about Damas, once again, we'll find out soon. And don't worry about me quitting because of one troll. I made my point very clear and honestly it didn't effect me enough to think that my writing is really that bad. And I'm really glad I have such a strong fan-base to keep me motivated! I swear I try to update if only to reply back to you guys and to get the story rolling along! **

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Yes, Damas does finally figure it out. Although he did need neon signs and a speaker not really connected to them to get him to figure it all out in the end. I'm going to try and get Jak into this chapter, not exactly sure how well it will work since I'm trying to focus on those in Spargus for right now.**

Chapter Twenty-Four: Pride

_"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1: 12-13_

* * *

Joel scowled as he watched the Wasteland trainee's struggle to keep up with Kleiver. The boys had passed all the other tests but as soon as they get pitted with Kleiver as their leader they all fail.

He growled under his breath and left the area. "As much as I will hate myself for admitting it, Jak would be able to keep up," he grumbled and shook his head. "That boy needs to get back here and show those runts a thing or two."

"Joel! Just the man I was looking for," Damas exclaimed and looked at his father-in-law with a relieved face.

"How long have you been looking for me?"

"Long enough to get caught by Susan."

Joel smiled and shook his head. "What do you need?"

"Tell me the truth, how long have you known about Jak?" he asked and Joel blinked.

"This is not talk for the arena. There are eyes and ears everywhere, you know that."

"Just tell me."

"Awhile, long enough for Jak to finally trust me. That took some effort let me tell you," Joel replied and looked around. "Come Damas, you look like you need a drink."

"I need more than a drink Joel."

Joel shook his head and lead Damas to the exit of the arena. "Tell me all that you've discovered once we get to my home," Joel said and Damas nodded. "You look like a broken man Damas. The people will start to worry. Especially those boys in the arena right now."

"How could I have not seen it?"

"You did at first. Although I'm sure my own judgment of the boy led you to believe that he was not what you were looking for."

Damas sighed and Joel slapped him on the back.

"I just don't understand anymore."

"Don't worry. I even had a hard time taking it in. Give it some time."

Damas sighed as he walked with Joel back to the small house.

"Good to see you again Damas," Susan said as they walked in. "Have you thought about what I said?"

"A good deal more than I would like to," Damas answered with a groan and they went to the living room, each sitting down a fair distance away from each other. "I just don't understand how I couldn't see him."

"How did you think he would appear to you? The same little boy that you lost all those years ago?" Joel asked and gave Damas a frown. "If you think that, then you are more foolish and ignorant than I originally thought."

"Is it so bad to hope for the boy that I had? I only want my son back now."

"Then you better get a grip on the idea that Jak is your son," Susan said and stood. "You may not want to see him as he is, but I see him and that boy, who is hurting far more than he will let anyone see, is my grandson."

Damas rested his head in his hands. "I just feel so confused. How could I not see him?"

"Damas, you are bull headed. You will not see what you do not want to see. You saw something in him when he woke that first time. His eyes were the biggest clue to you. They are Dani's eyes and you knew it. You still know that," Joel said and leaned forward. "I'm not sure who told you, but have you ever looked past the angry lines on Jak's face? And the stories that little rat of his tells are amazing. Even I have a hard time not believing them."

"Joel, I don't think it's a matter of what he saw," Susan said and both men looked over at her. "I think it's the fact that you couldn't recognize your own son. I mean, if we had lost Dani when she was a baby would you be able to recognize a face that resembled her but without baby cheeks and could talk? I don't either of us would have been able to recognize her."

Damas sighed and looked at Susan. "Why didn't you say this earlier when I visited?"

"Because I didn't hear my husband," she answered with a smile. "Damas, don't think that you are a terrible father because of your misjudgment. I mean, the boy only found out because of chance. I don't think any of us would have really assumed that Jak is your son simply by looks."

"Can you tell me how I'm supposed to act around him when he comes back then?"

"Act like you have been. Act like a king," Susan said and sighed. "We'll somehow bring him with us to visit you, without Daxter, and you can tell him. Don't you dare beat around the bush either Damas. Do you understand?"

"Why hasn't he told me?"

"For good reason. Imagine how you would feel if you had to go to a king and announce to him that you are his long lost son. Remember how so many people brought boys to you in hopes that you would give them the reward? Damas, he has been right to not tell you, but it has been ripping him apart from the inside out. If you don't tell him he will break. And then what will you have?"

"I understand his reasoning now. It explains a lot actually."

Susan laughed and shook her head. "I swear, you Mar children have the hardest time getting around your thick headedness. Took you forever to actually marry Dani, now this. And Jak is just as bad. What a simpler place this world would be without your family's stubbornness!"

She walked into the kitchen and called out, "Are you staying for dinner?"

"I would say yes," Joel warned and they laughed.

"Yes, Susan. I will be staying for dinner."

"Good."

* * *

Jak panted. This war was getting worse. True he wasn't exactly in the front lines pushing the Metal Heads and the KG Robots back, but he was just as busy. He found that he enjoyed sleeping a lot more since he had returned to Keira, but what little time he was actually with her was bothersome.

"Too many damned special ops work," he cursed and looked around the corner before continuing on. It was a good thing that Daxter had decided to stay behind and argue with Pecker, because there was no way he would have gotten this far if Daxter was there with him.

There were way too many Metal Heads and robots down here. And if Daxter was talking the whole way, he would have been down in the sewers for days. At least he was almost there, or he hoped at least.

He looked at his communicator to try and see where he had to go next. The map was recent, but outdated and it had been basically a type of hell just getting this far. "Now I kinda wish Keira had updated this thing…"

He shook his head and looked again. The way was as clear as it was going to get. He went forward and at the end of the tunnel he saw the glorious switch that he had been looking for, for hours. "Thank the Precursors!" he exclaimed and ran forward.

There were so many things that could have happened that day, but finally something was going right for a change. He could get to the Power Station and hopefully, just maybe he could get the cipher that they needed to unlock the War Factory floating above Haven and they could find a way to stop the robots from continuing to produce. And by 'they', Jak knew it meant he would find a way, which would probably involve blowing up the factory and getting out of there before it all went to hell.

"Which means no Daxter," he mumbled and nodded. "Which could be a good thing."

Jak pulled the switch the opposite way and hoped that if he were to go to the Power Station that it would be powered up and open for him to go to. "One can only hope," he said and looked around for a man hole of any kind.

He pursed his lips and down the corridor he found a ladder. "Good enough for me," he exclaimed and pulled himself up the ladder and forced the cover up. Gun fire erupted from the opening and jumping out with a raised gun her fired at the incoming KG Robots. "Great," he grumbled and made sure to avoid the soldiers' own gun fire since they probably didn't realize that it was him that was in the middle of the robots.

Looking around he realized he was in the Industrial District and was only a quick run away from the Power Station. His eyes lit up and he made a mad dash for it, shooting at any robots that got in his way. They were easy enough to destroy, but they were annoying. It was a good thing that there were no more of the large Destroyer ones. Probably took too much Eco and parts to make those.

He reached the door and forced it open, relief coming over him when he heard the familiar buzz of Blue Eco.

"Jak!" Ashelin's voice screeched at him and he pulled out the communicator. "What did you do?"

"I turned the Power Station on! It's what you told me to do!" he yelled back and growled.

"There is a five mile radius black out! The Power Station is taking up too much Blue Eco!"

"Well then find a new power source. Oh I know, try using Yellow Eco! We apparently have plenty of that!"

"And how am I supposed to do that on short notice?"

"Ask Samos!" Jak snapped and turned her off. "Damn woman doesn't even know how to use different Ecos as a power source. No wonder they are on a shortage of Blue Eco."

He shook his head in disgust and walked further into the Power Station. "Wow does this place sure bring back memories…" He could see Rex peeing on Kor's walking stick and the Kid running around, almost as if he was on a buzz from all the Blue Eco in the room. He could also see Vin typing away at random buttons with certainty that it would do what the code was supposed to do.

"I sure do miss Vin," he said and shook his head. "Now how am I supposed to get the…"

"Jak!"

Jak froze. "Who's there?"

"Jak, it's me!" a hologram of Vin popped up and Jak jumped. "Oh man is it good to see you again!"

Jak looked at the hologram and Vin tilted his head in the same direction. "Is it really you?"

"Well… yes and no. I'm a multi-layered hyper linking digi-memo-bio-construct-super-clocked-mega-memory-construct baby!"

"What?"

"When the city was overrun by Metal Heads, before they hehe got to me, I dumped my brain into the Eco Grid! Everything's great now! Hehe. Those monsters can't get me in here… eh… or can they?"

"Listen, Vin, I'm happy you're… whatever you just said. Right now though, I need to get into the War Factory, but the doors are sealed. Onin seems to think that the code is hidden in the system."

"Why do you need in the War Factory? I thought it blew up?"

"Not all of it. Someone has reestablished it and they are spitting out robots like crazy. Overtaking the Industrial Sector, the Slums and some of the Port area. I need to get in there and take it down, but I don't have a way in."

"Well, the code is here."

"Really?"

"Positive."

"Can you get it for me?" he asked, hopeful that Vin would really pull through for him and the others. They needed this cipher, more than anyone really realized.

"Negative."

"Why?"

"Because if you have half a brain cycle, you'd know that those access codes are guarded by the central system. Ancient, nasty, circuits in there. Even we bit brains can't nibble around there without getting our butts erased!"

"Are you sure? I mean, you were able to get me into the fortress that one time. Isn't there some way you could beat the blockades like before?"

"Nope."

"Really? Because then I'm sure those Metal Heads will find a way in here and tear the place apart completely. Maybe even getting you."

Vin's face appeared in front of Jak. "Are you serious?"

"Yup. I can't stay here and protect you forever you know."

"Oh… fine! I'll do it! I don't want to die for good! I mean, this is nice! I can control everything without having to run around and keep up with the system!"

"Good to hear," Jak said and grinned.

Jak waited as Vin mumbled to himself through the screens. Streams of data appeared on each screen and there were a few yelps, but Jak could still here Vin going through the systems.

He grinned as a Precursor item appeared out of thin air. "Vin I think you got it!"

"I sure did! That was almost as fun as getting you back into the fortress! Oh! If you ever need something like that done again, let me know! It was good to be back in business!"

Jak laughed and saluted him. "Listen, I've got to get this back to HQ, but I'll be sure to keep in touch. I promise."

"I'll see you soon Jak!" Vin called and Jak sprinted out.

Jak looked around outside and spotted the one brave civilian that had left his zoomer out in the open. Jak jumped onto it and hi-jacked it, flying straight into the higher level and speeding through the battles below him as he went back to the HQ.

* * *

Samos rubbed the crown of his head as he left Ashelin. She was so stubborn about transferring their power source to Yellow Eco.

"Why would Jak ever tell her about using different Eco?" he asked aloud and groaned. "It took forever getting it into the Mayor's head to use Blue Eco instead of the hydrolic energy source and now I have to give a lesson on how Yellow Eco can be used for engery? It's like raising those boys all over again."

"Nice to know that's how you felt about me," Jak said and smiled.

"Jak, just the boy I was looking for," Samos said and Jak's smile fell. "Don't worry, I don't plan on killing you or making you do chores. That's what Daxter is for."

Jak chuckled lightly and shrugged. "What do you need?"

"I want to talk with you about Keira before you go rushing back to her."

"Oh… Okay," he said and rubbed the back of his head.

"Come with me," Samos said and motioned for him to follow.

Jak did and they went into a secluded room, Samos closed the door when Jak was inside. "Sit down Jak."

"Yes, sir," he mumbled and sat on the bench; he hung his head and clenched his hands in his hair.

"Do you have an idea of what I'm going to talk to you about?" Samos asked, putting an aged hand on Jak's shoulder.

"I know you're going to want to yell at me, probably smack me across the head with your staff and maybe kill me."

Samos gave a dry chuckle and shook his head. "If it was Daxter, yes I would. But I want to know what you plan on doing with my daughter."

"So you're not going to kill me?" Jak asked looking up.

"Not yet. Though if it makes you feel better I will smack you with my staff," Samos joked and smiled. "I am very disappointed in you though. Keira has already had this conversation and she apologized, but I expected a lot more out of you, you know that."

"I know sir, and I wish I could go back and change what I did, but I can't. I'm sorry," Jak replied back quickly and hung his head again. "I wish I could change a lot of things, but I can't and I hate it."

"Will you tell me what you plan on doing with my daughter?"

"I plan on marrying her. I'll do anything to fix this wrong that I've done."

"I was hoping to hear that. Are you going to do it before or after the baby is born?"

"It's up to Keira. She's the one who has to marry this monster."

"JAK!" Samos yelled and smacked the teen with the staff. Jak simply flinched and looked away. "You are NOT a monster! I don't know what makes you think that you are, but this needs to STOP!"

"I've done so many things that are terrible."

"And you are a good man. A bit foolish and strong-willed at times, but you are not a monster."

"I've destroyed this entire city!"

"By saving it! Whatever brainwashing technique Veger is trying to feed you is wrong! You know that! You were banished because he is jealous and he knows that you are destined for greatness while he is nothing but a fly on the wall. Jak," Samos grabbed the boy's chin, "I will not see you do this to yourself. In case if you hadn't realized Keira loves you and you have family here that would rather see this city in flames than see you do this to yourself."

"What family?" Jak asked and looked back at Samos. "My father can't even see that I'm his son!"

"You found your father?"

"He's the king of Spargus! How could I not? And my grandfather was able to see it and he wants to tell Damas so badly and I won't let him."

"You should tell Damas! Jak, he's your father!"

"A rock would be more of a father than that man."

"What are you talking about?"

Jak looked away. "He's the reason why I was lost and my mother was killed."

"What?"

"Joel told me that if we were in Spargus when Praxis took over I would have been normal, or as normal as I could be. I would have a family!"

"Jak, you have Keira, and Daxter, and me. What more could you possibly need?"

"It's hard to explain."

Samos sighed and paced the room for a minute.

"Tell me what has been going on in Spargus?" Samos asked and glanced at Jak. The boy was frozen in place and by the hard breathing it looked like he was going to break down.

"I've been finding out about my family."

"Tell me."

"My mother was a citizen of Spargus, she sang beautifully and I've been told that I look exactly like her. My grandparents are wonderful people who have accepted me beyond what I could believe. I have a crazy uncle who keeps an eye on the beacon at the top of the palace. And my father doesn't even know I'm right under his nose."

"Are you going to tell him? Because if he hasn't seen it now, I'm pretty sure he won't see it anytime soon. He needs it shoved in front of him if he's anything like you."

"Strong-willed is putting it nicely. He's more of a bull."

"And I'm sure if he's been looking for you, he had more than likely conversed with the monks there; which I'm sure that they aren't any help unless you have a decoder."

"That's putting it nicely. I'm pretty sure Seem has helped him though. She was there a lot when I first woke up. I think Damas wanted to make sure I was going to live."

"That's good. Though I'm sure you have made it through that without a monks help."

"The Dark Eco was healing my dehydration. It felt like fire in my throat when the sparks erupted. And I'm sure if I was out in the desert long enough passed out the Eco would have created a shield to keep me alive. But I'm not sure if Dark Eco can do that. I can with Light Eco."

"Wait Light Eco?"

"Oh, the Precursors decided to give me Light Eco powers similar to my Dark Eco ones. I change into this "angel" of types. I can heal myself and others as long as I'm touching them, create a shield, and I can fly, kind of."

"Fly?"

Jak closed his eyes as he concentrated on the Light Eco inside of him. The wings erupted out of his back and he glowed a bright blue while his eyes flashed white.

"By the Precursors," Samos gasped and stared at Jak.

"You can't let anyone know. I'm trying not to use these powers simply because of Veger. Soon as he's dead I don't care. But he'll just try to kill me again."

"That is very true. Jak, you need to realize who you are again."

"I know," Jak sighed and flashed back to normal.

"Do I need to give you a history lesson?"

"No."

"Maybe just a reminder," Samos said and smiled gently at Jak. "Give me your hands." Jak did so, looking at Samos with a confused gaze. "You are a master of all Eco; you can create any Eco you want with these hands. You are a lost prince with so much going on that you are confused enough to lose your way. You are a boy with so much anger that the world could burn if you looked at it wrong. You are a man with so much courage to face the dangers in this world that you are a hero. You are a Son of Mar. And you are more of a man than anyone here. You, Jak, are worthy of my daughter and I am proud to call you son-in-law."

Jak blinked at Samos and panted.

"Remember that Jak. And it doesn't matter who accepts you in your life. You are a hero and nothing can stop you from being that. Now go find Keira. She's going to be very happy to see you again."

Jak nodded and smiled. "Thank you Samos. For everything."


	26. Chapter Twenty Five Return to Spargus

**And we're back on track! Pushing the original story a little bit more, which is a good thing since this is going onto almost thirty chapters and we have barely even touched the subject of the Day Star except on rare occasions. ^.^ Don't worry, I'm getting there. There are a lot of subplots to keep track of too, so bare with me.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: I don't either, believe me. It will definitely be a roller coaster chapter that's for sure. I figured that Jak wouldn't really want to deal with Haven any longer than he has to, so as soon as he can he would cut ties completely. At least in my mind. Oh Samos… he's an old fart, but he is still so sweet at the same time. He reminds me a lot of my grandpa, simply because of how cranky he is and how he complains about how my sister and I don't ever do any work any more. *sigh* Samos is my grandpa in disguise. I've been on a roll recently, so hopefully the next few chapters will come out really quick!**

**EmbyrEye: I know! It's going to definitely be a roller coaster for them, but it will hopefully work out in the end! I'm not too worried about stupid trolls; they don't have any effect on me. I'll be sad when this one ends, kind of like Never Gone. That one was my baby. I'm glad you like Susan and Joel, Susan is my favorite out of the two, just because of how accepting she is of Jak and how she demands that she calls him Nana and all that other cute stuff that grandmothers do. :3 I'll be expecting to hear from you!**

**Bloody Raptor: I'm glad it appeased to your emotions. ^.^ I do my best to reach everyone on a level of some kind.**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you! It would seem that even though Damas is royalty, that he would at least have a very comfortable relationship with his in-laws, considering that he married their daughter. XD I'm glad that you are enjoying it so much! **

Chapter Twenty-Five: Return to Spargus

"_Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, 'Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!'" Psalm 52: 5-7_

* * *

Jak took the elevator up to the conference hall where he assumed everyone would be. As the doors opened he heard arguing and he rolled his eyes.

"At least this might hopefully brighten their day," he mumbled and walked forward, picking up bits of the argument. Veger was there, as were probably half of the leading forces of Haven. "Oh great…"

Walking into the room he saw Veger and Ashelin fighting and other members of the council were there. He frowned and walked forward, tossing the cipher onto the table.

"I don't know what's going on," he said and the fighting stopped, "but this needs to stop."

"And who are you to tell us what to do?" Veger asked, his nose sticking straight into the air.

Jak rolled his eyes and scoffed. "The one who has been saving your asses," he growled and clenched his fists. "There is the cipher you asked for. And I'm assuming since the power is back on you took my advice and decided to start using Yellow Eco as a power source, right?"

"How did you even know that we could do that?" Veger sneered and the other council members nodded in agreement.

"Hmm, let's see, because Yellow Eco is another source of power. Are you really that dumb that you couldn't even think to maybe use a different power source?"

"You damnable child!"

"I am no child! If I were I would be hiding in a house sobbing in a corner, kind of like you. As you can see, I'm the one doing all the dirty work and winning this war."

Ashelin pursed her lips and nodded. "We'll get right on deciphering this Jak. I'll let you know if there is anything else you can do."

"Oh I'm sure," he replied and glared at Veger. "You are a very lucky man."

Jak walked out of the room and stayed by the entrance for a minute as the arguing picked back up. "Now would be a good time to bomb their little party and stop the arguing," he grumbled and growled as he stalked away. "I have better things to do."

"Step down Veger! You have been hustling us from the very start! You may be in a position of power, but I am still higher up than you!" Ashelin snapped and slammed her fist down on the table.

"And you should know your place! The only reason you are in your position is because your father was the last to rule. Soon as we change the law, you won't be a thorn in our side any longer."

"Oh and how do you plan on changing a law that needs the king's seal? Last I recalled King Damas was in the desert and Jak sure as hell won't do anything for you!"

"Small little trifles until the King and his heirs are dead."

"So you plan on killing everyone in your path? Good luck with that."

"I don't need to do anything. I just have to wait until the time is right to take control."

"And how do you plan on doing that exactly?"

"That star in the sky is our doom. You know this. I happen to know exactly how to destroy it."

"Oh you do, do you? Care to enlighten us?"

"Not a chance you insufferable brat!"

"You watch your tongue!"

"And when I am in power you will be the first to die!"

"You have to go through a lot of people before you'll ever be in power."

"Yes, well, once I have the power I will acquire, all those people will be small issues later on."

"Good luck," Ashelin sneered and watched as Veger turned on his heel and left the conference room. He was followed by the other members of the council, even though they had disbanded.

She couldn't understand how they could still follow Veger so blindly, since he had to be playing a dangerous game that could potentially get them all killed.

* * *

"Oh Jak, come here!" Keira exclaimed and smiled at him as he walked towards her.

"Yes?" he asked and leaned against the table next to her.

"I looked into that star you talked about," she started and his eyes lit up. "Well, Daddy said that it's a huge dark planet builder. Something I'm sure that would do similar things that Gol and Maia wanted to do. He doesn't really know when it will actually come, but soon he thinks."

"What else?"

"He thinks its rogue Precursor technology and that the only way to destroy it is with more Precursor technology. Something about how that technology could lie at the bottom of the catacombs."

Jak nodded.

"Also, there are a large number of Eco Crystals being moved around." Jak gasped silently and stared at the ground. "Someone is trying to awaken vast Precursor technology."

"Veger is probably behind it. Maybe Errol… Or maybe the monks?"

"I'm not sure. I would assume Veger, but now that Errol is back I'm not so sure. What about the monks?"

"They may be trying to stop that Day Star as well. I'm not sure though. I would have to go back to Spargus and get more information."

"I really don't want you going back there right now."

"I know, neither do I. But I may have to if only for a little bit. I won't stay long if I have to."

"I understand. What are you going to be looking for?"

"Maybe artifacts to help? Are there any structures in the forest that may help?"

"I think there is some kind of structure in the middle of the pond. Since the war started up again, the forest has changed a lot."

"I bet, especially since the Metal Heads have moved in over in that district. I'm going to head over to the forest and check things out over there. Maybe I'll find something."

Keira sighed and nodded.

Jak walked over to her and touched her cheek. "Hey, I'll be back. A trip to the forest won't kill me."

"I know, it's just… Why can't they win this war without you? It seems like ever since we've gotten here that all they do is make you run around like some little errand boy."

Jak scoffed and shook his head. "Do you forget who you're talking about? Everyone in Sandover did the exact same thing. This is nothing new."

"Maybe, but Jak, at least what they asked of you wasn't something that could kill you."

"I'm pretty sure some of the things I did could have killed me back then."

Keira pouted. "Just whatever you do, come back safe."

"I'll promise to come back alive. Breaks and bruises, maybe. I will not die."

Keira nodded. "I guess I can live with that."

"I'll come back here before I leave for Spargus, alright?"

"That'll be fantastic. Just don't run into Torn or Ashelin, understand?"

Jak laughed. "Don't worry. I'll sneak right past 'em."

Keira smiled. "Good. I don't want to share you anymore than I have to."

* * *

Jak found a zoomer on the outskirts of New Haven and grabbed it. "What are we doing again Jak?" Daxter asked and lifted himself to his elbows on Jak's shoulder.

"We're going to go to Haven Forest."

"For what?"

"To see if there are any Precursor structures there or not."

"Why?"

"To stop the Day Star, hopefully."

"Why?"

"Because the world will die if we don't."

"That's stupid."

"Believe me, I know the feeling."

"Ugh! Can I go back to bed?"

"Nope."

"Not fair!" Daxter whined and slumped down. "When are we going back to Spargus? It's been a few weeks."

"It's only been two. And we're going back soon. Probably after this or the War Factory. Hopefully before they decode the key for the doors. I don't want to do a suicide mission right now."

"Heh, good point. Let them handle the death missions for a little bit."

"My thoughts exactly."

Jak grabbed the zoomer and connected the wires as he sat down. The wires sparking and the zoomer revved to life.

* * *

"This place kind of gives me the creeps," Daxter said as they walked through the forest. "I mean, this place looks dead."

"I get the same feeling. Maybe somewhere in the center it will give us more hints."

"Maybe…"

Jak walked forward and leaves fell around them. It seemed as if winter hadn't reached this place yet even though it had snowed recently. There weren't any Metal Heads in the area and yet the forest still had an extremely eerie quality to it.

"My whiskers are tingling Jak," Daxter whispered and Jak nodded.

"This isn't a safe place right now, that's for sure," Jak replied and sighed when he saw odd Precursor colored structures in the middle of what was once the lake. "Oh wow."

"You said it. Look at that stuff! It looks ancient!"

Jak nodded and ran forward, stopping at the edge of the water.

"What do you think it is?" Daxter asked and Jak shrugged. "Well go out there and find out!"

Jak sighed and stepped into the water. "I swear if anything jumps out of this water Daxter, I'm sacrificing you," Jak growled and Daxter gasped. "I'm kidding. It's knee deep all the way in the center. I would be able to see anything if it were to jump out."

"You'd better be kidding," Daxter grumbled and crossed his arms. "This ottsel is not sacrificial!"

Jak shook his head and climbed up onto one of the circular bases. Shaking his feet, the base suddenly shuddered.

"Um… what did you do?" Daxter asked and the base shot upward.

"I didn't do anything!" Jak yelled and finally it stopped. "Well, at least we know something is here."

"I'd say! Geez! All of this Precursor crap is driving me nuts! First there's the warp gate, then there's the catacombs and now this! I thought that just worrying about Precursor Cells and Orbs was bad enough!"

Jak nodded. "We sure did go to a lot of trouble collecting all those Orbs and Precursor Cells, didn't we?"

"I'd say! Never met so many selfish people in my life! Remember those miners? Boy did they sure want a lot of orbs! Not to mention those stupid Precursor Idols! So many perfectly good orbs, that we could have used in town, and they wanted to trade them for stupid Precursor Cells!"

"Well we needed the cells anyways Dax. And it's not like we needed all of the orbs that we collected."

"I know, but still!"

"And besides, we didn't ever use orbs for money unless we were going to the Mayor!"

"And your uncle!"

"We were helping him."

"Not in my books."

Jak rolled his eyes and looked at the center tower. "Might as well see what's up there," Jak said and looking around before letting the Light Eco transform him. Once he was comfortable with the extra set of wings he nodded. "Let's fly."

Daxter yelped as Jak shot up into the air. "Warn me next time!"

"I did!"

"Not good enough," Daxter grumbled and Jak landed on top of the middle pillar. The Light Eco faded, as did the wings. "Finally."

Jak shook his head and gaped at the telescope like device. "What is that?"

"Uh… why don't you look?"

Jak rolled his eyes and stepped towards it.

"Approach the Astro-Viewer, time warrior," an echoing voice declared, causing Jak to stop. The two looked at each other.

"I think he's talking to you," Daxter whispered.

Jak gulped and looked into the scope. "Behold… the seed of our destruction."

The telescope zoomed up to the Day Star and Jak got a clear look of the ship that was headed right to their planet. "Oh crap…"

"What? What? Let me see? Let me see? Is she hot?" Daxter asked, jumping up and down trying to get Jak's attention.

"We Precursors built many worlds across the universe, shaping them with Eco into something good… but we were foolish. The Dark Makers were once Precursors, but their exposure to Dark Eco changed them. They began twisting worlds, conquering life and Dark Ages ensued. Now the dark ones have found your world and are coming to claim it for themselves."

"Well that could ruin your whole day!" Daxter exclaimed and Jak looked down at him.

"I think this may be bigger than just a war Dax."

"There is but one hope left. You will find a planetary defense system hidden deep at the core of the planet. There is still a chance to save your world. I hope you are more successful than many planets whose fate has already been closed."

Jak stepped away and Daxter climbed up to his shoulder. "Well… now that we've learned some stuff, maybe we should report back to Ashelin and the others?" Daxter proposed and Jak stiffened.

"I really don't want to have them know a whole lot right now. Ashelin loses her temper too quickly whenever Veger comes around and she would let him know almost immediately what we just discovered."

"Well then, what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to go back to HQ and let Keira know that we're leaving. You go to Tess and figure out a way to get the transporter to take us back to Spargus. The monks have a lot of explaining to do."

"Alright… well don't stay too long with Keira. And whatever you do, don't get caught by the others!"

Jak laughed. "Don't worry. I won't let them get away with keeping me in Haven for long."

"Good, cause I'm sure Keira would kill 'em all and then if Damas were to find out you've been doing suicide missions…" Daxter said and shuddered. "I don't want to be around when he finds out."

"Neither do I," Jak said with a nod. "Let's get going."

"Yeah. This forest is giving me the creeps."


	27. Chapter Twenty Six Home

**The ending was A LOT of fun to write! Took me the longest to do, but it was definitely the most fun! I think the next chapter will definitely have some humor in it. **

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: :3 That's all I really have to say, cause I'll ruin anything if I do say anything.**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Ok, so when I got your review I was standing in line for a concert outside freezing. Needless to say I was very, very happy to get an email alert and I kind of freaked out. I'm glad you like how slow it is, I'm trying to pick it back up to the original plot, but it's taking some time and for right now I'm okay with that. **

**EmbyrEye: Well… at least no one really noticed until now. XD I honestly don't have a clue where Daxter was, probably sleeping. I can't say when the baby will be born, but soon! Don't worry about that! And I honestly don't have a clue as to how most of Spargus will react, but I think this chapter kind of gives a clue. :D**

Chapter Twenty-Six: Home

"_You say you have counsel and might for war – but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?" Isaiah 16:4-6_

* * *

Keira sat at the workbench in her room with a sigh. Rex laid his head on her lap and she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here soon," she said and scratched him behind the ears. "He only went to the forest."

He whined and nuzzled her stomach. "I know. She'll be here soon. Just have to wait a little bit longer."

His ears perked up and he looked at the door. "What is it?" she asked and he tilted his head, sniffing. Rex walked to the door and sniffed at the crack at the bottom. He barked and his tail wagged happily. "Is it Jak?" she asked and stood up, walking over to the door. Holding her stomach she opened the door.

"Surprise?"

She laughed and shook her head as Jak walked in. "Not so much of a surprise since I have a guard dog."

"Figured as much. What happened to the robot?"

"I took a look inside it…"

"And?"

"Didn't put it back together."

Jak laughed and shook his head. "Well at least we won't have to worry about it back-firing on us or anything," he said and sighed.

"When are you leaving?"

Jak looked at her and frowned. "Tonight, hopefully."

Keira sighed and walked over to him. "Please, just whatever you do, come back."

Jak pushed a strand of her hair back and sighed. He gave a smile and nodded. "You don't have to worry about me coming back. Hopefully the transporter will stay at Spargus, that way I can come back whenever. I won't be gone long."

Keira nodded.

"And I will be back to welcome our baby into this world. I will be here."

Keira smiled and nodded. "Good."

She bowed her head and sniffed. Jak hugged her and sighed. "And just think, soon we'll all three…" Rex barked, "Sorry, four of us will be in Spargus. You get to meet Joel and Susan, Flynn and Maddie and Danielle, and Damas."

Keira nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

"When will you want to go?"

Keira gasped and looked up. "What?"

"When do you want to move there?" She blinked and bit her lip. "You don't have to decide now, but when I come back I'd like to know. I'm not sure what all needs to be done, but I'll be sure that we have a house to go to."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about the details, I'll work everything out."

Keira smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

Jak smiled. "Good. I'm going to have to get going soon."

"Not yet," she said and grabbed his arms. "Please, don't go, not yet."

"Come to bed, I'll be sure to stay until you are asleep."

Keira nodded.

They laid down on the bed and Jak held her. Rex curled up alongside them with a sigh. "When do you think you'll be back?" Keira asked and looked up at him.

"Hopefully in a couple of weeks," he answered and traced her face with his thumb. "Try and postpone Torn and Ashelin from decoding that cipher for me will ya? I want to be the one to go up to the War Factory."

"Jak! I don't want you doing anything dangerous! Who knows what could happen?"

"Keira, you don't need to worry. Besides it's just robots. And I'll be sure to destroy the factory. I'm sure Jinx has a few tricks up his sleeve to help and he's going to need time anyways to get those ready."

She pursed her lips and frowned. "I don't like it."

"I figured. Just know that until this war is over, that Veger is dead or out of power, that Errol is dead for sure and that the Day Star is destroyed I'm going to be doing some dangerous stuff. I don't know why, but you know that the Precursors have chosen me for something, that's been evident ever since Gol and Maia."

"I don't like it. And it's not fair! Why do Mutes have to be the Precursors' chosen ones?"

"Hey, I'm not Mute anymore," he teased and kissed her forehead. "I didn't choose this and as much as I hate to admit it, I do have a bit of a hero complex."

"You don't need to be everyone else's hero. You've saved us all twice already. Let them fight their own battles!"

"They did for who knows how many centuries. And besides, if I didn't do something, who would? Veger would probably kill everyone and no one else here even knows how to use Eco."

Keira huffed and pouted. "It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair. I don't want to talk about that anymore."

"What do you want to talk about then?"

"What are you going to do when he's out and in the world?"

"Oh so she's a he now?"

"Yes."

"You are such a male." Jak gave a smug grin and stuck his nose in the air. "And a prideful one at that!"

"I am a son of Mar."

"It's a good thing you haven't been spoiled your entire life, otherwise I might just smack you right now."

Jak laughed and shrugged.

"Anyways, I plan on doting _her_ with tons of love and kisses. When I'm not doing that though, I'm going to be planning of ways to kill Veger for wanting to kill her."

"He's going to be dead before you get the chance."

"That's what I was hoping to hear."

"How many death threats did you get?"

"Too many," she answered and he growled. "It doesn't matter now. Ashelin took care of it and the only one who dared confront me about it was Veger, so he's the only one I want dead."

Jak's eyes narrowed. "I shouldn't have spared him earlier today then."

"No, you shouldn't have."

Jak laughed and sighed. "Well, I guess my violence is good for something on some occasions."

Keira smiled and nuzzled her face against his chest. "I want her to look like you."

"And what if I want him to look like you?"

"Then we're going to have a problem."

* * *

Jak had a hard time slipping away. He didn't want to leave her hold and he had been able to feel the baby in their embrace and his heart had clenched like it had when they had first reunited.

Rex lifted his head as he gathered his gear. "Come here boy," he whispered and the crocadog jumped down and trotted over to him. Jak kneeled down and the dog sat down. "I want you to watch out for her okay? You attack anyone that wants to hurt her, you hear?" The dog nodded and licked Jak. "You be a good boy and keep her and the baby safe."

Jak stood up and Rex whined. "I'll be back. And when I do I'm taking you all back to Spargus when I return. I'm not keeping you here any longer than you need to be."

Rex barked and Jak shushed him. "Get back in bed and keep them safe."

Jak left and the door shut locking automatically. He left the HQ as quickly as he had entered and made a mad dash on a zoomer back to the Port.

He went to the Naughty Ottsel and sure enough Tess and Daxter were both there.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yup," Tess answered and smiled. "And it's a good thing that you two are leaving at night, it'll be easier on the engines of the transporter."

"Is there anyway that the driver can stay in Spargus until I need to come back?"

"Well, it takes a lot of fuel to get to Spargus and there is no way that he would be able to come back immediately. So if you can convince him and more than likely Damas to let him stay then he will until you need to come back."

"Won't be a problem. So is Daxter ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. I don't like leaving Tess already. I mean, I've barely been able to be with my sweet thang!"

Tess giggled and shook her head. "Don't worry; when you two come back I'll be sure to give you all the attention in the world!"

"I'm holding you to it Tess," Jak said and Daxter beamed happily. "I have a request though."

"Yes?"

"Keep in contact with Keira. Be there with her if the baby comes before I do."

"Don't worry. I'm going to be moving back to HQ soon, so I'll be able to keep an eye on her and make sure she stays safe."

"Thank you. I don't know how to repay you."

"Bring that hot stuff back safe and you won't have to worry about paying me back at all."

"See, I'm hot stuff."

Jak rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to bring him back safe."

"Good. See you boys later. Stay safe!"

Jak nodded with a salute and Daxter jumped onto his shoulder and exclaimed, "Let's rock their world!"

* * *

The communicator on the table crackled. Susan looked at it with pursed lips and hummed at it. "Now who on earth could be trying to contact me?" she asked and walked over to the crackled communicator. "Hello?"

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this…" a voice mumbled and Susan frowned at the voice. "Nana?" Laughter followed as did a hard slap.

"Jak?"

"Thank the Precursors!"

"Why are you calling me?" she asked and heard laughter again.

"I don't have Damas' communicator, otherwise I would be asking him, but is there anyway that there could be clearance for a transporter from Haven? It's how I'm getting back and the transporter can't just leave. The driver says that there isn't enough fuel to get back."

"Well why don't I give you Damas' communicator number that way you can ask him?"

"I'd rather not ask him and we're almost back to Spargus."

"Fine. I'll get a hold of Damas," she said and shook her head. "Come here first. I want to see you."

"It'll be the first place I go."

"Good. I'll see you boys soon," Susan said as they disconnected. She flipped through the numbers finding Damas' and pressed the number code.

"Susan? What do you need?"

"Well it's a good thing I really got a hold of you. Listen, there is a transporter from Haven coming in soon."

"I already know this."

"And what are you planning on doing?"

"Shooting it down, why?"

"Jak is on that transporter."

"Damn it."

"Call off the order Damas."

"I'm working on it!"

Susan huffed and disconnected. "How did he already know about the transporter?" she asked aloud and growled under her breath.

* * *

Damas paced as he tried Kleiver's communicator. "Pick up the damn communicator Kleiver or I'll make sure you never come back into Spargus!"

"Alright, alright! You don't have to threaten me! What do you want?"

"Kill the order I just gave you!"

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!"

"Fine!"

Damas sighed and lowered the communicator. "Thank you Susan," he whispered and looked around.

Joel came into the room and stormed to Damas. "What on earth is going on? Kleiver is giving me hell over the communicator and there is a transporter from Haven landing by the gates as we speak."

"It's Jak."

Joel sighed and nodded. "I'll go and meet him. Maybe I'll be able to keep Kleiver from killing them."

"Good luck."

Joel left the palace and went to the main entrance of Spargus. He wasn't very surprised to see Kleiver in Jak's face and giving threats.

"Kleiver!" Joel yelled and they all looked at him. "I believe you have something else to do."

"Yes sir," the large man grumbled and left. "This won't be the last you hear from me boy."

"Looking forward to it," Jak snapped and crossed his arms. He looked at Joel and gave a small smile. "Sorry I didn't give you more warning about how I was getting here. Or when for that matter."

"That's for sure. Come on; let's get you back settled into Spargus." Jak nodded and followed Joel through the streets. "So what's the news from Haven?"

"They're losing, even with me."

"Well that's not good."

"Errol's back. He was a commander for the Krimzon Guard and was a leading force in what happened to me. He was supposedly dead after crashing into a year's supply of Dark Eco; they didn't find anything of his body afterwards, so it doesn't make any sense."

"I remember Damas talking about a young captain of the guard that Praxis had taken a liking to. Is this that captain?"

"Probably," Daxter said and groaned. "It would sure explain a lot as to why Errol was such a suck up to the man!"

"Huh… what else has been going on?"

"Veger is power playing and I got a clear view of what that star is," Jak answered and pointed at the Day Star.

"What?"

"The Day Star. It's a ship. I can see it getting here real soon. I need to talk the monks about it, because I know that they know more then they are letting on."

"And do you know how to speak cryptic? Because that is what you are going to get."

"I've had my fair share of how the Precursors talk. I think I know how to decode them."

"And when did you learn this?" Daxter asked. "We've talked to how many Precursor Idols and not once did you ever look like you understood!"

"I've spent almost my entire life just listening Daxter. I understand a lot more than you would think."

"Except how to talk to girls."

"I am doing just fine talking to Keira, thank you."

"What about Veronica? Did you forget about her?"

Jak froze and he cursed. Joel put an arm around him and said, "I would let the girl know that you happen to have one back in Haven. Just a thought."

Daxter laughed and said, "Speak of the devil. Here she is. Better let her know Jak."

"I would rather face five Metal Head leaders than do this."

"Welcome to what is married life," Joel teased and laughed. "Don't worry, I won't leave ya hanging. Unlike your friend."

"Hey, I've happened to have gone through a lot with him!"

"You may just have to go through one more difficult thing with him" Joel said and smiled.

"Jak!" Veronica exclaimed and ran over to them. "Where have you been? It's been weeks!"

"Well, I've been in Haven," he answered and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Haven? Why were you in Haven?"

"I kind of took Sig's job, but I have my own personal reasons as well."

"Such as?" she asked and crossed her arms.

"Returning to some family and back to who I really am," he answered and stood up right, his chin rising.

"What kind of family?"

He frowned and Joel raised a brow. "Oh for goodness sake!" Daxter exclaimed and slapped his forehead. "He knoc…"

Jak grabbed him by the neck and glared at him. "My fiancé," he answered and Daxter's jaw dropped, as did Veronica's.

"What?"


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven Everything is Going

**I'm sorry it's so short! I couldn't think of anything else and it's busy enough as it is! I also know that this is not what you guys will be expecting.**

**Ecomadness: Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you like it so much! **

**EmbyrEye: Ha..Ha... Right. Awkward. You could say that. Humor... um... yeah, totally.**

**Bambii-lea: Thank you very much for the review! I'm glad that you have finally read through it and you like it so much! Yeah... those first few chapters are definitely a doozy and I understand about a few lines. Not all of them really fit, but I do my best. Thank you very much for the compliment! I wasn't exactly sure how people were liking how over-emotional Jak has been in this story, but I'm glad there is some feed-back on it. I'm really glad that I got Damas down. And about the fanart... DO IT! DO IT NOW! When I read that last part of your review I thought my heart was going to stop! I don't mind at all so long as you notify me about it! Oh my gosh!**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Thank you for the review. Don't worry, there is lots going on in this chapter so hopefully you like it.**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Believe me, it's like a party goes off in my head anytime anyone reviews on any of my work, although my older stories that are a little wonky that get reviews always leaves me wondering if the reader was high or something. XD It was nice writing Jak in such an uncomfortable position although he was relatively safe for it. I'll be sure that the next few chapters has a bit more action in it, this one is definitely well... climatic. And I hope from the very bottom of my heart that you enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Everything is Going to be Fine

"_A cheerful heart is good medicine,  
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22_

* * *

Daxter giggled as Jak looked at himself in the mirror at his grandparent's home. "You are going to be nursing that bruise for a while," he said and cracked up in laughter as Jak glared at him, gently touching the black and blue spot on his cheek.

"I'll give you something to nurse," he growled and stepped away from the mirror.

"Oh, both of you shush," Susan said and handed Jak an ice pack. "Well, at least that is finally out of the way."

Jak rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I have been dreading this day for a long time."

"Why? Because that girl could probably hand your ass to you?" Susan asked and Jak frowned. "I think the only thing that is hurting is your pride. Now chin up, we have something relatively exciting to tell you."

Jak blinked and looked at Daxter, who shrugged. "What?"

Joel looked at Susan and sighed. "I think we should go somewhere a bit more private," he said and crossed his arms.

"More private? What place can be more private than here?" Jak asked and looked at them with fretful eyes. "What do you need to tell me?"

"It has to do with Damas."

Jak blanched and then found his boots to be very interesting. How long has that scuff been there anyways?

"Jak, will you look at me please?" Susan asked and he shook his head. She looked at Joel and frowned.

Standing in front of Jak she cupped his cheek. "Please don't close out on us."

He panted slowly as his eyes flashed to her and flitted across her face. "What does it have to do with Damas? Why can't you just tell me here, now?"

"Because he has some things to tell you as well," Susan answered and gave him a light smile. "Now come. We promised Damas we would bring you to him once you returned."

Jak gulped and Daxter climbed up to his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry! I got your back!"

"Daxter," Susan warned and he shrunk down.

"What? I'm simply here to give him support! If I had known that I was going to be of no use I would have stayed with my Tessy-poo!"

Jak shook his head and then nodded. "Okay, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Susan smiled and her hand went to his shoulder, giving him a light squeeze. He followed her and Joel nodded at him. "No more running," he said and Jak gulped silently. Joel followed behind them and watched with pride as Jak walked to either his own definition of doom or a very heart wrenching welcome home.

Jak panted silently as he walked with his grandparents to the palace. Never before had he dreaded going to see his father more than he did right then and there. He would rather face Kor again with none of his powers than do what he was doing right then and there.

"Hey," Daxter whispered and nudged him with a furry paw, "don't worry. Everything will be fine. And you have Keira waiting for you back in Haven anyways if this doesn't work out."

Jak nodded and attempted to even out his breathing. As he focused on his breathing he didn't even realize how quickly they had reached the palace until they were walking into the threshold.

"Oh Precursors," he sighed and his panting returned as heavy as before.

Joel put a firm hand on his back and pushed him forward.

"This is a bad idea. I don't like this at all," Jak said and shook his head, pushing back against Joel.

"Jak!" Joel snapped and Susan turned to look at him.

"Jak, now stop. You don't even know what is going to happen," she said and grabbed his hand. "Now come."

"No."

Susan pursed her lips and glared at him. "Don't you make me treat you like I did your mother."

Joel snickered for a moment and pushed Jak forward. "Come on boy, you don't want that."

Jak panted harder and let Joel lead him to wherever Damas was. He just knew that this wasn't going to end well at all.

Never before had he ever dreaded doing something as trivial as speaking with someone. He was dreading every moment that he spent walking through the halls of the palace and he had no way of turning back with Joel pushing him forward.

Before he knew it though he was in the throne hall and Damas was staring at them from his seat. He blinked a few times and gulped.

"Joel, Susan," Damas said with a nod to each. "Jak."

Jak nodded once and stared, fear causing him to pant heavily.

"And Daxter, correct?"

"Yeah! That's me!"

Jak shuddered and looked at Joel with a fearful look. "Calm down Jak, he won't bite," Joel whispered and pushed him forward.

He stumbled forward and Damas gave him a nervous smile. "Ah, you however are coming with me," Joel said and grabbed Daxter by the tail.

Jak froze and then spun to see the three of them leave with the slam of a door.

"Oh Precursors," he whispered and then spun back to face Damas. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights and he was frozen where he stood.

"How have you been Jak?" Damas asked and stood up.

Jak gulped and shook where he stood.

"Are you alright?"

He opened his mouth and answered, "Y-y-yes. I'm f-fine."

"Good. That's good to hear," Damas said and walked closer to Jak.

Jak stared at him and took a stuttering step back.

"I've been looking forward for you to return. I've come to some revelations," he said and watched Jak carefully. "You can trust me you know."

Jak gulped and nodded, not trusting his voice, afraid that it would crack at any moment.

"Then come closer. I won't cause you any harm," Damas said and held a hand out.

Jak looked at his hand and then back at his face. "What are your revelations?" Jak asked, amazed that his voice hadn't cracked at all.

Damas sighed and motioned for Jak to follow him. Jak gulped and stood where he did for a moment, before walking after him. They ended up on the other side of the hall and were beside the pond. Greenery grew out of the stationary water and small fish swam in circles.

Damas sat and Jak followed suit, deciding that he couldn't trust his legs for whatever Damas was going to tell him.

Jak stared at his feet as Damas looked at him.

"You look just like her," he said and Jak froze. He couldn't feel his heart beating and he stopped breathing. "Did you know that?"

Jak took in a breath and panted.

"Wh-who do I look like?" he asked and tried to play the part that Daxter played so well.

"Don't play ignorant. You know exactly who," Damas said and frowned. "I have been foolish and stubborn and I have hurt you."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jak! I said not to play stupid! You know exactly what I am talking about," Damas snapped and turned to Jak. "I have to keep people alive out here, keep them full of hope that there is a place for them. I barely have the time to keep my own hopes up. I have willingly put on blinders when it has come to you and I killed my own hope when you came to us."

Jak looked at him and just stared.

"I recognized you, you know this, but my own stubborn pride and the fact that I have an entire city and people to protect stopped me from letting the fact that you could be someone special to me grow. It took me far too long to come to this realization, especially when you've known since you first learned who I really was."

Jak thought he stopped breathing again. "Precursors, you know?"

"I haven't known for long," Damas answered and sighed. "Jak, I'm sorry. I hope that there is some way that you can forgive me."

Jak looked back at his feet and lifted his hand to the seal under his shirt. Could this really be going smoothly? Could his father have truly seen the light and was going to accept him without any bumps?

"I didn't picture this going over smoothly," Jak said and slowly looked at Damas.

Damas gave a slight chuckle and shook his head. "Believe me I had to make sure the story Sig told me was legitimate. I had a very hard time believing it, considering all the trials I've gone through."

Jak blinked and looked away again. "This can't be real. This has to be a dream. I'm still back in Haven. I know it."

Damas frowned and gently touched his shoulder. "This is as real as it can get."

Jak jumped and stood up, backing away. "You aren't going to doubt any of it? Even though I have these… powers?"

Damas slowly stood up and frowned. "Why can't I just accept it?"

"I already have one good thing going for me in Haven that I have been blind to for the past eight months. There is no way I can have another good thing. The Precursors wouldn't let me. I would know."

"Jak, sometimes there are good things all over the place for those that deserve it. Why can't you have more than one good thing?"

"Because that's not how the Precursors work! I've been put through hell again and again because of what I am! Because of what I am to them!"

"You don't have to be their tool anymore! Just accept this."

"Can it really be that easy? Can you really just announce to Spargus that you found your son? He should only be seven at the most now. I'm a mess."

"One that I intend to fix in time. Jak, I have a lot to make up for and I plan to start now. Spargus has had bigger shocks come to them. It can be easy."

Jak stared at him and he simply couldn't understand even his own thoughts. For so long he had longed for his father to see him for who he was and here he was, ready to embrace him with all the faults included. Could it really be that easy? Could the Precursors finally be done using him as a tool? Could something good finally come to him? He couldn't understand why he was denying himself this.

"I don't understand," he whispered and Damas walked up to him, grabbing him by the arms.

"It doesn't have to make any sense for it to be right," Damas said and looked at Jak.

Jak looked up at him and shuddered. "I've wanted this for so long."

Damas nodded and smiled. "Welcome home, my son."

Jak gasped and closed his eyes. Tears threatened for the first time in a long time and he clenched his eyes tighter.

"Will you look at me?" Damas asked and Jak shuddered as he opened his eyes. Damas nodded and smiled again, pulling Jak into a hug. Jak stiffened for a moment and then closed his eyes, leaning into his father's frame. "I won't let you go so easily next time."

Jak took in a shocked breath and a sob wracked through him suddenly.

Damas clenched his own eyes shut and held on tighter to Jak. "Shh, it's alright. Every thing is going to be fine."


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight The Lions Den

**Holy crap, this verse completely took me by surprise. I seriously opened my bible and it opened right to this. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Also, random characters popping up because I can. XD Let's just say that I love Susan.**

**Chimeran Conduit: Thank you! And I'll update whenever I can.**

**Ecomadness: Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it! **

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you! That chapter was a bit wonky even for me. I have a feeling though that if I ever do go back and edit it in any way I will definitely work on the chapters that bothered me. I love Susan and Joel. They are by far my most favorite characters! I'm not sure if Veronica actually just slapped him. I would assume that because his cheek is so black and blue that she probably punched him and then walked away… Not sure though. That's up to everyone else to decide. Believe me, its reviewers that make this so much better. I would probably still update, but wonder to myself if the story was actually good or not.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Yes. Yes I do. Angst is like a pick-me-up for me. But it's going to be picking up soon. Plan. Like have every single chapter planned out and have a rough outline of what each chapter is going to have. I'm being deadly serious. The reason why this story itself has so many breaks is because even though I have little bunny trails every now and then, they ruin what I have planned and then I have to change the story. Most of this story is kind of based upon bunny trails. Most specifically is the sub-plot of Jak and Keira having a baby. I swear, when that plot bunny popped up I'm pretty sure I was in the shower and I was like: *jawdrop* I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS EVEN DONE THAT! And I had to do it. **

**EmbyrEye: I think I posted this around 10:00 Eastern time… Pretty sure. But I'm glad that you liked this chapter so much! Thank you! I'm pretty sure that this chapter may or may not explain your curiosity of Jak being a father, that's up to the reader to decide. **

**The Trio of Twilight: :D Thank you! I'm glad you liked it so much!**

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Lion's Den

"_See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." Isaiah 32:1-2_

* * *

"So how are my two lovely men?" Susan asked and came into the throne hall, a huge grin on her face.

Damas and Jak looked up at her and tears welled in her eyes.

"Oh!" she cried out and ran up to them, putting an arm around them both. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"

Damas chuckled and pulled away from her. "Do you know how indecent you are Susan?" he asked and she slapped him.

"Shush! I've waited far too long to hold my grandson and son in the exact same hug? I haven't been able to do this at all! Oh if only Dani was here!"

Damas sighed and nodded. "I wish she was here too," he said and closed his eyes.

"And how are you Jak? You've been quiet," Susan asked and pulled back, taking his chin into her finger, tilting his face up to her. "Oh…" His eyes were glazed over with tears and he tried to form a smile, but she smiled for him. She pulled him into her own hug and rubbed his back. "Nana is very proud of you," she whispered and he burrowed his head into the crook of her neck. "There, there."

Damas blinked. Did she just say Nana? "Calling yourself Nana now?" he asked and laughed.

"Hey!" she snapped and glared at him. "I haven't heard anyone call me that for years. And Dani was the one who gave me the name. Besides I finally got to here my grandbaby call me that today."

Jak smiled for a moment and then pulled away. "As much fun as it is having a family reunion, I do need to get some stuff done," he said.

"Like what?" Susan asked and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, for one I need to find out as much information on the Day Star that I can from the monks."

"That won't be easy," Damas said and shook his head. "Believe me, I've tried getting information out of them and in all honesty Seem is the only one who doesn't truly speak in riddles."

"Which is not going to be a walk in the park either since she hates me," Jak said and sighed. "Of course it wouldn't be easy."

"I can have her come to the palace. She won't disregard my invitation. You can stay and question her for me," Damas offered and Jak nodded.

"That sounds like the best plan," he said and closed his eyes. It was now or never about a real living situation. "I do have a question though."

"About what?" Damas asked and Susan gave them both a funny look.

"Keira, the girl that I had left in Haven, she's well…" he started and clenched his eyes shut, "pregnant."

"WHAT?" Susan screeched and Damas blinked.

Jak panted for a moment and then said, "I'm not sure what all is entailed, but I want her to be here in Spargus after the baby is born. I don't want to burden Flynn and Maddie with us and another baby and I don't want to burden anyone else."

"How soon before the baby is born?" Damas asked and Susan gaped.

"Anytime now. When I left Keira had a little over two weeks left until she was due."

"Am I the only one that is angry at him for this?" Susan asked and Jak bowed his head.

"I know what I did is very wrong, but I plan to fix this as best as I can. I want her to be safe and she isn't in Haven. Hell, she's had death threats just being pregnant with my child. I want them both to be safe and Haven is not safe for them. Not with Veger running around pulling power plays out of his ass. He's been the source of most of the threats to begin with."

Damas nodded and looked at Susan. "You're probably expecting me to be furious aren't you?"

"Yes. I am," she answered and shook her head. "But I am very proud that you are taking responsibility Jak."

"Thank you," he said and hung his head. "I have a bruise somewhere on my head from her father's staff, so I think beating the stupidity out of me isn't going to work."

"Well," Damas started and stood up. "There are plenty of suites in the palace. No one stays in them and we don't have any diplomats from Haven coming and going anymore. It's been a long time since I'm sure these halls have had a child running around them."

Jak blinked. "Are you serious?"

"When am I never serious?" he asked and smiled. "I want you to stay here."

"But what about the citizens? Are they really going to just accept that I am your son?" Jak asked and stood up, helping Susan stand as well.

Damas cocked a brow and shook his head. "The citizens will take my word for it, or risk the threat of being thrown out or being put into the arena with Marauders. They will accept it."

Jak nodded and sighed. "Thank you," he said and smiled. "I'm not sure when but I will be bringing Keira and the baby as soon as I can."

"I look forward to it. I didn't think I would ever see the day to hold a grandchild," Damas said and a smile grew on his face. "And I'm sure you're looking forward to holding a great-grandchild."

"I am. Although I feel way too young to have a great-grandbaby. I mean, I just got my grandbaby."

"I'm not a baby," Jak said and his ears burned red.

"You are to me," Susan said and smiled. "Why don't we all have a family dinner tonight?" she offered and Jak blinked.

Damas sighed. "I would love to, but I have put off enough of my duties today. Maybe some other day when I am ahead."

"And when will you ever be ahead of your duties again?"

"I don't know."

"Well, since I don't know when we'll be able to have the both of you together again on such good terms I want to have dinner tonight. We'll have another when Keira is here. I want to meet this girl."

Jak smiled and nodded. "You'll love her," he said and his hand went to the necklace, he fingered one of the shells and a warm smile spread over his face.

Suddenly an alarm went off and Damas looked up. "There's the storm."

"What?" Jak asked and Damas smiled.

"Do you want to know what real Wastelanders do?" he asked and led him out of the palace.

"Where are we going?"

"To the garage. Storms are the best time to go out and collect artifacts. There are probably a few others that are out right now, so the pickings will be a little bit slim, but you shouldn't have any issues. Just watch out for Marauders and if you pick up any other Wastelanders that can't find their way back, pick 'em up."

"Sounds easy enough."

"Keep your scarf up, your goggles down and keep your foot on the gas. The vehicles have enough gas to keep you going for about a day in a storm. Try to be back though before the storm gets too bad."

"Aren't you coming with me?" Jak asked as Damas shoved him into the Sand Shark.

"Nope. I have to make sure that everyone gets into their safe houses before the storm really hits us."

Jak blinked as Damas left and he was left in a line of other Wastelanders, waiting for the garage doors to open.

"Way to just throw me to the dogs," he said and started his vehicle. He pulled down his goggles; gracious that Keira had updated them without him knowing. A map of the desert popped up in his vision. He laughed and shook his head at her antics. He pulled his scarf up and revved the engine.

He looked around at the other drivers and it was then that he realized that they were the others that were in his training class. He smirked under his scarf and looked past the map. Hopefully the map would actually show the artifacts he was supposed to be looking for, otherwise he was screwed.

He adjusted the goggles and a menu came up. "Keira, you are amazing," he said and twisted the knob he had pressed. Precursor items came up and he laughed. "I'm going to kiss you senseless when I see you again."

When he pressed the knob again the map became littered with little dots. He laughed and revved the engine. This was going to be fun.

Now that he knew that the other drivers were the same boys in his training this was a show of who was better. They probably all had training. He didn't have a clue as to what was going on. But he was going to show them all up.

The doors opened and they all shot through. Jak looked to the sides seeing that the others had headed into different directions, though grouped, to look for the artifacts.

He was the very definition of the lone wolf.

He went to his first target and was able to grab the artifact right out of the sand while driving by. He looked at it for a moment and saw that it was an odd cubed shaped object.

Shaking his head he continued on, stopping at each mark and pulling out the artifacts that he could without having to get out.

Marauders crawled out of their caves and drove after him. They started to fire and he jumped at the sudden assault. He looked at the artifacts that he had gotten, then back up to survey how bad the storm was getting. He could barely see more than a hundred feet in front of him.

He was going to have to go back in.

Jak turned around and floored it, avoiding the Marauders as well as he could and taking everything in as it came. The desert was vicious in the winds and he was struggling to pay attention to the map and what was actually going on in front of him.

He finally saw the doors to the garage and flew over a dune, landing with a thud. He skidded for a moment and straightened the buggy, speeding in and sliding to a stop.

Jak took a deep breath in and then let it out in a huff. He pulled up his goggles and pulled down his scarf.

"Here boy, you were out there for a long time," a man said and handed him a canteen of what he hoped was water.

"Sure didn't feel like long," he said and took a gulp of the liquid, sighing to learn that it was water.

"Have you trained for this at all?" the man asked and Jak looked at him.

"Not at all," Jak answered and stood up in the buggy. Everyone else was already back and they were looking at their loot. He looked down at his and blinked. They were all really odd Precursor artifacts that didn't look like normal artifacts.

"You definitely got quite the haul there though."

"Yeah."

"How'd you find it all?"

"Believe it or not someone in Haven upgraded my goggles. Put in a map and a whole bunch of settings just for the map. One of them was Precursor items and I chose it."

"Someone in Haven? Geeze, whoever it is needs to come to Spargus. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would pay generously for goggles like that."

Jak chuckled and nodded. No need to say that Keira was in fact coming to Spargus soon.

"What's he doing here?" one of the other drivers asked and stood, walking over.

"Ya know, I never did learn your name," Jak said and gave a smug grin.

"It's Mitch."

"Mitch, huh? Well I didn't ask to be here. I was put here. Thrown into the lion's den."

"Someone must've known the group you were in."

Jak nodded. "Probably."

"Looks like you got a bunch of useless crap."

"Precursor stuff usually is," he offered and smirked at the gasp.

"Precursor?" Mitch exclaimed.

"Yeah, usually is nothing but trouble."

"And how would you know?"

"I've had my fair share of Precursor junk."

Mitch glared at him and turned away. Jak chuckled and got out of the Sand Shark.

The man put a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "You handled that pretty well. Mitch has been known to rip new comers a new one every now and then."

"Thanks. I've had a few run-ins with him though. I'm pretty sure the last time he saw me he thought I was going to kill him. I'm the one with the Eco powers."

"Ah, this makes perfect sense now. It's funny now because he used to be one of the few that could actually channel Eco. Now he's not anymore. He's just jealous. His family is known for Eco channeling, but nothing much other than that. His sisters all got dragged into the order of Precursor Monks. He's not a fan of the monks."

"I'm not either," Jak said and went over to the other side of the buggy, looking at the artifacts closely this time. "What happens to the artifacts that you collect?" he asked.

"Depends on how useful it is, also how much it is. We usually trade Precursor artifacts to the monks just because they are so damned protective over the Precursors, but if you want to keep any of it you want."

Jak nodded and looked at each piece. His thoughts kept going to the telescope in Haven Forest. Sure it showed him what the Day Star actually looked like, but there was a gut feeling he had that it could so much more.

The cubed shaped artifact stuck out as did a prism of sorts, two others did but he didn't have a clue as to what they were or what they were used for. He kept the four and then tossed the others into the pile.

He put them into his pack and jumped at the sight of Sig.

"Watcha doing out here Chili Pepper?" he asked and laughed.

"I just got back in from the desert," Jak answered and followed Sig through the now empty streets. "What are you doing?"

"Coming to fetch you. Joel said that if I didn't bring you back in one piece then he would have Susan come after me. I am very much afraid of that woman."

Jak snickered and followed Sig through the street. "What's so scary about her anyways?" Jak asked and Sig looked at him

"Have you seen her wield a knife? Or even a gun?"

"No."

"Good. You don't wanna."

Jak laughed and walked up the steps to the house. "Are you coming in?" he asked and Sig shook his head.

"I have to get back to my place. Only place I myself trust in a storm this bad."

Jak nodded and walked in, pulling off his boots and watching sand poor out. "I guess I forgot how much sand gets in your shoes," he said and grimaced. Keira was going to hate the sand.

He wiggled his toes to loosen the rest of the sand on his feet and walked in.

"So how was your first time dashing for lost artifacts?" Joel asked as Jak walked into the hall.

Jak looked at where his voice had come from and saw Damas sitting in a chair in the living room. He sighed and gave a smart smile.

"Pretty sure I'm the only one that actually got Precursor artifacts."

"And how did you find those?"

"A little gadget that Keira added to my goggles," Jak answered and touched the goggles on top of his head. "I plan on thanking her properly when I get back to Haven."

Damas chuckled and nodded at him. "Good for you. So was that the group of boys you were in in your training? Joel seems to think so."

"Yup. It honestly wouldn't have surprised me if they had ganged up on me," Jak said and sighed. "Where is Daxter?"

"Hiding."

"Why?"

Damas raised a brow and Jak nodded. "Where is he at?"

"In the kitchen. He seems to think that Susan will protect him."

Jak shook his head and moved into the living room further. He sat on the couch. He could get used to actually having a family. A small smile was brought to his face as he thought of Keira being here. It would be just like back in Sandover.

Sand getting in the most annoying places. Lying out in the sun until you were so exhausted and hungry that you had to go inside. And just simply enjoying each other's company. He would enjoy not having to worry about a gun being pointed at their heads, not having to look over his shoulder any more. He would enjoy the future that they had.

"So Jak," Damas started and Jak looked up at him. "Tell me about Keira."

Jak nodded. "So long as you tell me about my mother."

"It's a deal."


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine The Big One

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: No problem! I just wish that I would take my own advice sometimes. Thank you, I'm glad you like that so much.**

**EmbyrEye: Jak would probably crash and burn. lol This chapter answers all of your questions so…**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you! I guess I can only thank me family for that protectiveness. That is very true about Susan when she babysits. I can almost guarantee that the baby will always be safe when she babysits. I'm glad you like the humor so much.**

**Chimeran Conduit: I'm glad you liked it so much!**

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Big One

"_But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3: 4-7_

* * *

"So everything is fine?" Daxter asked as they walked to the Palace. "Like, fine."

"Yes, everything is fine," Jak answered and gave Daxter a funny look. "What were you expecting?"

"Oh I don't know… A COMPLETE MELTDOWN! Broken limbs! More than just that bruise on your face!"

"Geeze, if it makes you feel better I had a hard time simply accepting what he told me. I didn't think it was real."

"Well… I guess that makes it a little bit better, but seriously, ol' sandy simply just accepted it? I mean, come on! Not once in the past times that we've actually talked to him has he even seemed to recognize you!"

"I get that. I don't think he was able to accept it as easily as he makes it sound. I suppose if we really wanted to scoop we could ask who told him."

"Do you know who?" Daxter asked, his eyes widened in excitement. "That would be the juiciest story ever!"

"You sound like a journalist," Jak said and rolled his eyes.

"What? It would be! Don't deny it! I wanna know how he really reacted!"

"Yeah, well while you learn to the real story I'm going to stick with the one he told us."

"UGH! You are no fun! Learn to live a little! At least before the world ends!"

"The world is not going to end," Jak said and shook his head. "We will find a way to stop that thing before things get too bad."

"Yeah, right. And I'll be king."

"Dax," Jak warned.

"Fine! We will stop it! Happy?" Daxter asked and glared at the ground. "But seriously, how on earth are we supposed to stop it? I mean, Gol and Maia was kind of easy and you had to get eaten by the Metal Head Leader to defeat him and that was gross."

"I don't know. But I won't let this world end. Not when things are finally going right at least a little bit."

"Right. And by 'right' you mean Samos didn't kill you when we were in Haven, Keira is as fine as she could be considering that she's about to pop and ol' sandy didn't completely ruin your life. Yup. I would say that everything is going just right."

"Well considering that things don't normally go according to plan for us, yes I do think that all those things are a good thing."

"Alright you've made your point," Daxter said and crossed his arms. "Why are we going to the palace again?"

"Damas is going to have Seem come and answer some of my questions. I have plenty and most of them have to do with the Day Star. She knows what is going on and we need to know everything she knows if we want to even have a chance of getting rid of the Day Star," Jak said and entered the palace. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Right. Like she is going to help."

"We won't know unless we ask. I know she doesn't like us, but hopefully she'll be a little bit more compliant with Damas there."

"Yeah, right."

Jak ran up the stairs and took a deep breath as he entered the room that Damas had told him about the previous night. He saw Damas leaning against a table and then he saw the monk that they were just talking about standing as far away as she could.

"Jak, you're here. Good. Now we can begin," Damas said and Seem gasped.

"You didn't tell me that the Dark Eco user was going to be here," she snapped and glared at Damas. Jak rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I don't tell the people a lot of things, yet that doesn't hurt them. You talking to him will not hurt you."

Seem growled under her breath and turned to Jak. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to know everything you do about the Day Star. It's come to my attention that the Dark Makers are coming to kill us all. Isn't that right?"

"How do you know what they are called?" she asked and raised her chin, clearly hurt by his own knowledge.

"The Astro-Viewer in Haven Forest. Look, I just need to know everything I can about the Day Star."

"If you spoke with the Astro-Viewer and it actually conversed with you, then you know more than even I."

"No I don't," Jak said and walked closer to her. "I don't know what these Dark Makers look like. I don't have a clue as to what the planetary defense system is. These are things that you know."

Her eyes widened at the news of the defense system. "I… can't tell you what I don't know."

"You don't know any of this?" Damas asked and they looked at him.

"No. I only know what is told to us. I do know just from the disturbance in Eco though that someone is planning something with the Dark Makers. I'm not sure who is doing the work, but it will be our downfall."

Jak looked at Daxter and his jaw dropped. "Do you think it's…?" Daxter asked and Jak shook his head.

"It's not Veger," Jak answered and Daxter nodded. "But with Errol I don't know."

"What about Veger?" Seem asked and Jak looked at her.

"He's planning to do what we are, but he can't do it without us doing all the dirty work, besides he's nothing but a diplomat and diplomats can't get anything done in Haven."

Damas laughed and Jak jumped. "Oh, how true you are!"

Seem frowned and shook her head. "Veger doesn't understand what he is even contemplating, but for some reason you happen to have more knowledge of Precursors. Tell me this at least, why do you care to save this planet? It has not been kind to you."

Jak nodded and gave a sad smile. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind if Haven was destroyed by this Day Star. I want nothing to do with it, but I can't have that without risking everything else. Besides I have a life to look forward to after this."

"Hmm, I suppose you are better than that fool anyways," she said and gave a small smile.

"So you'll help?"

"I can't help much, but I know what you need. I don't have it right now, but I will be able to give it to you in about two weeks. I can only hope that that will be soon enough for you."

"Do you have any idea as to when that thing will come to our planet?" Damas asked and Seem looked at him.

"I don't know when, but I know that it is soon."

"Will two weeks be enough?"

"It will be," she said and bowed. "I must go though. My advice is no longer needed."

They watched her leave and then looked at each other. "This is going to sound like running, but I need to go back to Haven," Jak said and Damas nodded.

"I understand. You got the information that you needed. Go. I'm sure that the transporter you came in has the fuel it needs and will make it back to Haven."

"Thank you," Jak said and smiled. "For everything."

"Don't thank me yet. I suggest that whatever you do in Haven, you do it quick." Jak nodded and turned to go. Damas grabbed his shoulder. "Be with Keira as much as you can."

Jak nodded and Damas let him go.

* * *

Keira sighed as she turned the small machine in her hands again. Rex was curled on the ground by her feet and Tess sat on the work bench cleaning a gun that she had just designed.

She didn't know what to do. She had basically been locked in her room, Tess was there to be her body guard and she had absolutely nothing to do. Her fingers itched to get dirty and greasy. She wanted to be in the garage working on something, anything that had oil and would keep her hands busy for a day.

"I'm bored Tess," she said and Tess looked up at her.

"I'm sorry. Torn and Samos both have told me to not let you leave this room."

Keira groaned and fell back against the bed, her belly strained and she sat back up. She groaned and the baby kicked again, shoving her foot straight into Keira's ribs.

Keira flinched and released a breath. "Boy is she antsy today," Keira said, rubbing the top of her stomach.

"Has she been kicking like crazy?" Tess asked and Keira nodded. "Do you think she may be ready to come out?"

"I sure hope so. I'm not enjoying the beating my ribs are getting at all," Keira groaned and stood up, walking around.

"Do you want to walk around outside of here?" Tess asked and Keira's eyes lit up.

"Can we?" she asked and Tess nodded. "Do we have to sneak around?"

"I don't think so. So long as I'm here we should be fine, after all, I am your bodyguard."

"You are not scary enough to be a bodyguard Tess," Keira teased and went to the door. Rex picked his head up and then followed her. He whined and Keira frowned down at him. "What's wrong?" she asked and scratched the top of his head.

Tess frowned and opened the door. "Keira get back," she said and Keira obeyed, putting her hands protectively over her stomach.

Tess glared at the empty space. "What's going on?" Keira asked and gulped.

"I'm not sure," she said and shut the door. "Sorry, but I don't think we're going to be leaving."

Keira growled under her breath and sat down on the bed. "I'm going crazy in here!" Keira exclaimed and tears stung her eyes. "I just want to do something, anything! I'm sick of being so useless!"

Tess turned to her and sighed. "I'm sorry. I've followed Torn's orders since I've joined the Underground, I'm not about to ignore his orders now. And you know what your father said. That alone should keep you here."

Keira rolled her eyes. "And I'm not allowed to rebel against my father? I've taken care of myself before."

"Yeah, but you weren't pregnant. Think of the baby if not yourself."

Keira glared at her. "I am! If they want to try and kill me, they'll have to face a person worse than death. And Veger knows that. If he's going to continue to send death threats then he's going to have to face Jak and Jak won't stand for it."

"None of us will!"

"Then why hasn't anyone done anything! Sure Ashelin has yelled at Veger, but that sure hasn't stopped the threats!" Keira snapped and stood, putting her hands on her hips. "I want that man dead! He has done nothing for any of us, yet he promises that he's going to be the one to save the world? I'd like to see him try."

Keira shook her head. "I may be the only one having a baby during this war, but I am for damn sure not just going to sit by any more."

Tess sighed and shook her head. "Do you even hear yourself? You're less than two weeks away from having your baby. What can you do?" Keira glared. "Just please, don't do anything stupid. Jak would agree with us."

Keira shook her head and sat back down on the bed. "It's not fair," she whispered and Tess sighed.

"Keira, life isn't fair. But you don't need to be doing anything super for any of us. You're fighting a war on your own with all the death threats. Hell you could have had an abortion in the beginning before anything really took place, but you didn't. Just be glad that you don't have to fight. The port was terrible and that was probably one of the safest places you could be aside from New Haven."

Keira looked away and closed her eyes.

"I watched men come back butchered fighting the KG robots and Metal Heads. Be glad that you were here updating the cruisers instead of there, because as much as I enjoy the shooting range, I would rather have been here."

Keira sighed and nodded. "You've made your point, okay? I'm just sick of feeling so useless."

"You aren't though. Believe me when I say that those cruisers have faced worse in just the past month but they haven't gone down yet. Whatever you did worked and hell, those cruisers are damn near invincible."

"Have you seen Jak drive?" Keira asked and Tess shook her head.

"Well, I did see the races, but he was disguised so I didn't know it was him."

"He may be good at racing, but he destroys the vehicles. I've had to fix more racing zoomers with him than I have ever had to before. Don't even mention the JET-Board."

"What does this have to do with Jak?"

"With the way he drives, I've had to find new ways to make the zoomers a lot more durable and not so easily destroyed. It's why those cruisers haven't been destroyed yet."

Tess smiled and nodded. "That makes sense. Well I can tell you right now that Ashelin appreciates it. Cruisers are hard to come by in a war and the longer they last the better."

"I bet. Have they gotten any closer with decoding that cipher that Jak brought back from Vin?"

"I think they almost have it completely decoded. They know that it will open the War Factory doors. But they don't know who is going to go up though. It will have to covert job and none of the men, aside from Torn and Sig, could do that. Torn can't because he's needed at HQ and Sig can't cause he's gone missing."

"They'll probably have Jak do it."

"I'm sure Jak will volunteer."

Keira gave a dry chuckle. "You have no idea how right you are."

She gasped and looked around, then down at her stomach. "Oh crap," she whispered and stood up, seeing a large wet spot. "Crap."

Tess blinked and gulped. "Okay… okay. What are we supposed to do?"

"Well, I would call my father," Keira said and Tess nodded. "And let him know that my water just broke."

"Got it," Tess said, but didn't move. Keira smiled and walked over to the table, grabbing her communicator.

"Keira?" Samos asked over the communicator and Keira smiled.

"Daddy, my water just broke, what do you want us to do?"

"What?"

"It's really early, I know. But the wet spot on my bed says otherwise. What do want us to do? And what do I do with Tess; she seems to be in shock."

"She'll be fine, just tell her what needs to happen. I want you to stay where you are. I'll be there soon. By the way, Jak is almost here, do you want him to come and see you or do you want us to let him know later."

"Later. He doesn't need me to distract him right now. What is he going to be doing when he gets here?"

"Well, Torn and Ashelin have finally decoded the cipher and they are going to have him go up to the War Factory. Know though that the baby probably won't be born for a day at the most."

"I got it," Keira said and set the communicator down. "Tess, are you okay?"

Tess shook her head and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry, just kind of took me by surprise is all."

"That's fine. I'm going to change though. Daddy should be here soon."

"Alright," Tess said and went to work taking the sheets off the bed.

There was a knock on the door as Keira pulled on a new pair of pants. She and Tess looked at each other for a moment. Keira put her hand on her stomach as Tess opened the door, sighing to see Samos.

Rex barked and ran up to Samos, jumping up on him and licking his face.

"Get down!" Samos yelled. "You stupid dog! You hate me! And I hate you!"

Keira laughed and whistled. Rex got down and trotted over to her. "You gotta stay here Rex, alright? Guard the room."

"Come on you two. There's a shuttle outside and the sooner we get there the better."

"Got it," Keira said and followed her father out, Tess coming behind shutting the door.

"How soon will Jak be here?" Keira asked and Samos shrugged.

"I'm not sure when, but we got a transmission from the transporter about a half hour ago that they had left Spargus and were on their way."

"That's good," Keira said and smiled. She flinched slightly as the baby kicked against her ribs again and she sighed. "The sooner you are out the better," Keira said and rubbed her stomach.

Samos looked at her worriedly and then shook his head. The baby would be fine. He would simply have the doctors perform an Eco Test on the infant. Just to see if there is anything different with her.

* * *

Jak jumped off of the transporter hurriedly and Daxter hung on tight as he ran through the street.

"Will you please get a zoomer?" Daxter exclaimed and Jak rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Not like there will much of a difference," Jak said and grabbed a zoomer that was on the side of the road.

They sped through the KG sector and had to dodge a few bullets that were a little too well aimed for Daxter's liking.

It didn't take long for them to reach the HQ in New Haven and Jak ran through the entrance.

"So what are we doing again?" Daxter asked the speed disorienting.

"Well I was hoping to see Keira, but Ashelin seems to think that they have finally been able to get that cipher to unlock the doors to the War Factory."

"Well let's get to it! I know you really want to see Keira, but I mean, this seems to be a little bit more important."

"Yeah," Jak said and entered the main room that Torn and Ashelin had occupied for the war.

"Alright! I'm back!" Daxter exclaimed. "What'd I miss?"

The two looked at him and rolled their eyes.

Torn shook his head and said, "We gotta big one this time, Jak. That cipher you got helped us unlock the main KG War Factory doors. We can get inside now, and we need our best people on the raid."

"Oh, gee… I wonder who that might be?" Daxter asked and rolled his eyes.

Ashelin glared. "We would have Torn or Sig do it, but Torn is needed here more than out there and I don't have a clue as to where Sig is, so it's you boys."

"Sig is in Spargus sweet cheeks," Daxter said and they blinked. "What?"

"It doesn't matter," Torn said and pointed at the diagram that was projected of the War Factory. "I wanna know who's behind it all! How are so many Death Bots being made? Where are they getting the supplies and the Eco? Somethin' about this doesn't seem right."

"We think that they are doing something that is bigger than just making Death Bots," Ashelin said and looked at Jak.

"Yeah… right into the hornet's nest. This is gonna be fun," he said and gave a grin to Daxter.

"Yeah, remind me when to laugh!" Daxter snapped and crossed his arms as he settled back onto Jak's shoulder plate.


	31. Chapter Thirty Errol

**Oh my gosh. So much happens in this chapter! Like a lot! I'm amazed it went so well. Hmm… Something must be wrong with me.**

**EmbyrEye: Yeah… I've been on a writing kick recently and I have just been popping out chapters like plot bunnies form. XD I never said what the baby was going to be…. :3 **

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you, I agree. I'm ready for this story to get going again and hopefully the chapters will be a little bit faster. Though I think the next chapter will be a slow one simply because of what happens in this chapter. A lot happens.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Yup. I hope you like this chapter! Lots of action!**

**P.S. TO EVERYONE! HAVE A HAPPY EASTER IN CASE IF I DON'T UPDATE AGAIN! :D**

Chapter Thirty: Errol's New Friends

"_Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies." 2 Kings 17:38-39_

* * *

"There's a cruiser waiting for you in the loading docks," Ashelin said and Jak nodded. "It shouldn't take too much damage, after all Keira updated them."

"That means they won't be destroyed at all!" Jak said, eyes widening.

He ran out of the room and to the loading docks.

"Can I hide?" Daxter asked and Jak rolled his eyes.

"Why do you want to hide? You'll miss out on all the action."

"Jak, bullets and I do not get along. You should know this by now."

"Well you're coming with me. Hide in the pack if you want."

"Yes!"

Jak rolled his eyes as he climbed into the cruiser. He turned it on and it started to hover gently. "Oh how I've missed cruisers," he said and pressed more buttons, turning on the weapons system, the defense system and the communication system. "Ashelin you there?" he asked.

"Yes. We have your GPS on and we're watching you from the street cameras."

"Got it," Jak replied and maneuvered the cruiser to the door, ready for it to open.

"Just be aware that the KG will probably start attacking as soon as you reach the factory, they will not have any mercy and you shouldn't give them any."

"Not gonna be a problem," Jak said and the doors opened, he zoomed out and flew up into the sky toward the War Factory. He readied the machine gun and gave a cackle as he tore through the KG that had started to attack him.

He took it upon himself to go through the outside of the War Factory and destroy as many robots as he could, along with the security defenses the building had. "I sure hope you two aren't hoping to use this place later, because I'm taking it down," Jak said into the communicator and Torn laughed.

He went around the place another time, this time alerting the late defense system. A rocket grenade shot at him and he dodged it, shooting at the weapon until it blew up. He gave a dry laugh as he went around destroying the weapons that popped out at him.

Flames and smoke came from the War Factory, yet it still stood strong in the air.

"Do you know of any other security defenses?" Jak asked and waited for a moment.

"I think that was it. I can't really tell anymore with all the smoke and fire," Torn said. "I think you're safe to land now, but stay in contact. We don't know what is in there."

"Got it. Do you think I'll have time to return to the cruiser if I get the chance to blow up the factory?"

"I don't think so," Ashelin answered. "Considering the self-destruct option that was established when it was still outside of the city you'll maybe have a minute, maybe even less, to get out of there. I wouldn't risk it."

Jak nodded and lowered the cruiser to the entrance of the War Factory. He coughed from the smoke and pulled his scarf up. "You ready Dax?" he asked and looked at Daxter.

"As I'll ever be," he mumbled and climbed into the pack as Jak got out of the cruiser. "What do you think we'll be greeted with? Death Bots? Those annoying grunt things? Or do you think we'll have to deal with the little spider things?"

"I don't know, but I'd be okay with the smaller ones. Not exactly in the mood to deal with an army of Death Bots."

Daxter chuckled and Jak punched in the code Torn read off. The doors opened and Jak sighed.

"I wasn't expecting it to work so well," Daxter said and Jak snuck around as he went through the halls, using the gun that Tess had given him and attacking the robots they encountered with an ambush of bullets.

They came to a small ramp with a large drop and Jak looked over the edge. Daxter popped his head out and pointed at a vehicle at the other side. "Oooh, take that and run 'em over! That would be pretty sweet!"

Jak nodded and walked over the ramp, aiming the gun at anything that moved.

* * *

"Oh…" Keira moaned and walked around the room. The contractions were coming quicker and quicker as the time went by. She arched her back and put her hands on her lower back.

Tess watched from a chair in the room and bounced her leg nervously.

"Have you ever been around a birth before?" Samos asked and she shook her head. "Don't worry. It'll be over soon."

Keira paced again to the bed and then lowered herself to bend over.

"How does she know what to do?" Tess asked and looked at Samos with a curious look.

Samos gave a small chuckle. "She would sometimes help me when a woman back in Sandover needed help during the pregnancy. Usually a house-wife would go to the house of the pregnant woman, but not many women were very confident in their skills. They would rather trust a Sage. Keira just happened to be the only one who would volunteer. Jak and Daxter would bolt as soon as they even saw the woman come up to my hut."

Keira gave a snarky laugh. "Oh yeah, that was always fun!" she snapped and stood up. "I could kill Jak right now."

"You're the one who said not to let him know you were in labor."

"I know, but right now I want to hit him," she reasoned and paced again.

"Lots of women would pace and it always seemed to help. We didn't have any pain medication other than Green Eco, so it's not surprising that Keira is rejecting any medicine that they offer."

"Geeze," Tess said and Keira turned again.

"Is there a ball?" she asked and looked at the two. "Please tell me there is a ball."

"You're going to rush the dilation," Samos said and stood. "Sit for a little bit. You've been pacing the entire time."

"I don't want to sit. That means I'll have to get back up again."

Samos rolled his eyes. "As stubborn as her mother," he grumbled and walked over to her. "Let's walk down the hall then."

He took her arms and she followed him, the door opening and they went down the hall to a window. "How much time between contractions?" he asked and Keira sighed.

"Not very much," she answered. "I'm trying to ignore them and walking seems to help the most."

"Do you want the doctor or nurse to come in and stay, just in case if you are ready earlier than they expect?"

"I'm not sure. Abagale is super busy today, of all days, and if they are busy I don't want the nurses to be shorthanded. That isn't fair to everyone else here, especially when I have you Daddy."

He gave a small chuckle. "Not exactly sure if I'm the one who should help," he said and gave her arm a squeeze. "Just think though, you're going to hold your baby in a matter of hours."

"Oh I know. I'm really excited for that. I just wish Jak was here to witness it," she said and sighed. "Do you think he's back now and doing something for Torn and Ashelin?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. They had cracked the cipher and were able to get the code for the War Factory doors, so they probably had him go up there. He'll be fine."

"I know," she said and they walked to other end of the hall, going past the nurse's station. The one on duty there smiled at her.

"Are you sure you don't want any medication?" she asked.

"I'm very sure," Keira said and flinched as another contraction went through. She growled out her breath.

"How much time between your contractions?" the nurse asked and Keira flinched again.

"Not very much," she answered and Samos led her back to the room.

"I'll have your doctor come and assist you," the nurse called and Keira waved her hand.

"Get in bed Keira; you're just going to have to deal with lying down."

Keira groaned and obeyed. She sat upright and rubbed her stomach.

"I hear you're almost ready?" Abagale said, walking into the room as Keira tried to settle in the bed.

"Yeah, you could say that," Keira said and Tess watched as Abagale looked to see how dilated she was.

"Oh wow. Um, are you ready to push?" Abagale asked and Keira blinked.

"What?"

"I can see the head. You don't really have a choice," Abagale said and Keira nodded.

"As I'll ever be," Keira said and Samos moved the back of the bed into a sitting position.

"Is the father going to be here?"

"He better be soon. I'll kill him if he's not," Keira said and gripped the handles on the bed, pushing to Abagale's count.

Tess stared and then shook her head, taking Keira's hand. "Just don't break my hand," she teased and Keira laughed, a tear streaming down her face.

"I'll try not to," she replied and cried out as she pushed again.

* * *

Jak climbed out of the vehicle and walked to the elevator. "This is it Dax. We're finally gonna get him," he said and Daxter climbed out of the pack, sitting on the shoulder plate.

The elevator stopped at a large open room. Glass tiles were under Jak's feet and he was able to see barely the ruins of the palace. He walked out and looked around.

"Come out," he ordered and a distorted cackle came from a balcony.

"I've found some new friends to help me conquer this puny little planet," Errol said and Jak's eyes widened as Daxter's jaw dropped at the sight of what was once Errol and the robotic body that he had.

"What happened to him?" Daxter asked and Errol glared at him.

"If it weren't for you I wouldn't be in the state I am."

Jak shook his head, realizing what Errol had meant. "You're talking to the Dark Makers?" he asked and Errol laughed.

"Not as dumb as I had thought," Errol said and gave a smirk. "It seems my digital self can communicate with these poor… tortured… minds quite well. Oh… they're just like you and me, Jak. Well… me at least. They want a home, someone to call a friend…." Errol growled at him. "Destruction of all Light Eco! They've volunteered to help me put this puny planet out of its misery. Ha hahahahahaaa!"

"You're in for a big surprise. The Dark Makers don't play nicely with others," Jak said and gave Errol a grin.

"I've been given the chance to wield a power even the Precursors could not control," Errol snapped and snarled at Jak. "Don't fret. You won't live to see what I turn this little world into. Maybe a rock, or a floating puddle of slag, or… nothing at ALL! COMPLETE OBLIVION! So hard to choose." Errol tapped his chin and then flicked it out, giving a snarl of a grin.

"I won't let you do this!" Jak yelled and Daxter yelped as he buried himself back into the pack. Jak dodged a blow from Errol as he snarled, Dark Eco rolling off of him in waves.

"Come now Jak," Errol started, jumping down to the glass floor, the force causing it to crack all the way through, "do you really want to die here?"

Jak ran up to him and slashed his claws across Errol's metal chest. They didn't make a dent. Jak's eyes widened and Errol cackled.

"Not gonna beat me that easily," Errol said and threw Jak across the room.

Jak skidded to a stop and slammed into the wall. "Shit."

"Jak, who's there?" Ashelin asked through the communicator and Errol laughed.

"Do you even have back-up?" Errol asked and stalked closer.

"It's Errol," Jak said and dodged one of Errol's attacks.

"WHAT!" Ashelin and Torn yelled together and Jak rolled again as he dodged Errol again.

"Shut UP!" Jak yelled and threw the communicator off of his body. "Daxter, find the self destruct function."

"On it!" Daxter yelled and jumped out of the pack, climbing up the wall to the balcony.

Jak pulled out his gun and had to access the Light Eco inside him to pull up the shield.

"What is this?" Errol demanded and Jak chuckled.

"I got a few new tricks up my sleeve," he answered and switched the gun to Peace Maker mode. He charged it and Errol glared at him, backing up slightly. Jak lowered the shield and fired the charge, hitting Errol in the chest.

Errol stumbled and Jak switched the gun to the regular Yellow Eco. He shot continuously strafing to avoid Errol as well as he could.

"It seems that the other Ecos at least have an effect on you," Jak said and put the gun away, calling Yellow Eco to his hands, ready to lob a few bombs at him.

Errol snarled and pinned him to the ground.

Jak released the Eco in his hands and gasped, the weight of Errol's hands crushing his arms. He struggled to get his feet under Errol to push him off.

"I'm thinking of taking that little mechanic from you before this is all over. How is she anyways?" Errol sneered and lowered his head to Jak's. "I'd be sure to give her the ride of her life."

Jak snarled and pushed against him. "You leave her out of this!"

Errol cackled put more weight on Jak's arms. "I don't think so. In fact, I think I'll take her right now. I know where she is exactly."

"I found the self-destruct!" Daxter yelled and Errol looked up.

"WHAT?" Errol exclaimed, rising off of Jak.

Jak laughed and was able to push Errol off of him with the distraction. His arms throbbed painfully and he threw a large bomb of Yellow Eco at him. Errol yelled in frustration and looked at the situation.

"Set it off Dax!" Jak yelled and Errol looked at him with a feral gaze.

"Done!" Daxter yelled and Errol snarled as he ran to a warp gate.

Daxter jumped down and landed on Jak's shoulder. "Damn, he got away," Jak yelled and growled. "This gate better go somewhere good."

"Couldn't we just fly down?" Daxter offered and Jak sighed.

"Yes," Jak said and changed into his Light Form, the feathered wings sprouting out of his back. "They're all gonna see."

"So what? We're saving their lives."

Jak nodded and broke the rest of the glass floor. Daxter held on as they free fell for a moment before Jak let the wings catch them. They glided over to New Haven and then descended in front of HQ. Jak shook his head as he released the form.

His head throbbed and he blinked for a moment. He looked up to see the War Factory falling to pieces, falling into the stadium and causing the ground to rumble with the impact.

"You okay Jak?" Daxter asked and Jak nodded. "Let's go tell Torn and Ashelin what's up and then go find Keira. Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah," Jak said and shook his head again as they walked into HQ.

* * *

Keira gave one last cry as she pushed again.

"There we go," Abagale said, pulling out the baby. "That's… odd."

"What?" Keira asked, looking at Abagale and then at her father, then to Tess. "What's wrong?"

"He's so small," she said and then handed the baby to the nurse in the room, running out and gathering a small army of nurses.

"What's going on?" Keira asked and a nurse took care of her as Abagale went to work feeding an extremely thin tube down her baby's throat. "Tell me what's going on!"

"Keira," Abagale said and turned to her for a moment. "Your baby is pre-mature."

Keira stared at her and they rolled the crib the baby was in out.

"No!" she screamed and tried to move to get out of bed. "You're lying!" she screamed and fell back against the bed.

"Don't worry, he's going to be fine," the nurse said and gave her a smile. "Abagale knows what she's doing."


	32. Chapter Thirty One Phoenix

**Well… this chapter is probably a little bit slow compared to the last one. Sorry.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Um… sorry? XD You'll find out. Relax and read :D**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you! Writing for Daxter has to be one of my most favorite things to do, mainly because then I can come up with lines like that. **

**Bambii-lea: I already kind of talked to you on dA, but I'm really excited to see some of it! Just message me or something when you'redone and I'll try to be the first to comment and have a complete spaz attack for you. XD**

**Chimeran Conduit: I'm glad you like the explanation, but I'm kind of confused as to why you don't like the bag. It's there for one: anything that Jak puts in there and two: for Daxter to hide. He does sit on Jak's shoulder, but he hides in there when things get a little dicey for him. Daxter may sit on his shoulder in the game, but considering how many bullets probably go by Jak's head he probably would like to be as far away as he can be from them. I hope this explains the bag a little bit better, I don't think I had written that it was implied that Jak purposely put Daxter in there.**

Chapter Thirty-One: Phoenix

"_Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14_

* * *

Jak and Daxter walked into HQ. Jak had to shake his head again as the Light Eco finally faded. "Remind me to never use Light Eco like that again," he said and Daxter chuckled. "I'm being serious. I have a huge headache."

"Got it Jak. I'll keep this conversation in mind next time you decide to get drunk and I happen to not be."

"You're a light weight!" Jak exclaimed and shook his head. "Doesn't matter anyways."

"I am not!"

"Daxter, yes you are. Two beers and you're a blubbering mess," Jak teased and laughed.

"I can hold four thank you! And two vodka shots! So ha!"

Jak shook his head and didn't retort to Daxter's defense. He sighed as he went to the room where Torn and Ashelin were at.

"What the hell happened to your communicator?" Torn demanded as soon as they walked in. "I thought we told you to stay in contact!"

"You did! And you were distracting me! How the hell was I supposed to fight Errol in hand to hand combat when you were yelling at me?" Jak snapped and shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore. The War Factory is destroyed, but I don't have a clue as to where Errol went."

"What happened?" Ashelin asked and Jak sighed.

Daxter jumped off of his shoulder and onto the table. "What happened is that we kicked that robot's nuts… and bolts!"

Jak gave a dry chuckle. "Not without taking a bit of a beating," Jak said and touched his arms, they still throbbed but they weren't broken at least. "He is basically a robot, with just a few parts of him being human, he's huge. He still has his own memory though, that much is for sure."

"Yeah! And he ran away as soon as I set off the self-destruct!" Daxter added and Torn glared.

Pecker came into the room with a few quick flaps of his wings and landed near Daxter. "Onin has some news that she says is important to you," he said and Daxter rolled his eyes.

"Of course she does."

Ashelin spoke up before Pecker went on. "Well now that we have a clue as to what Errol is doing, I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that it's not a very good thing that he is trying to get that ship here before we can destroy it."

"You mean when we," Daxter said pointing at himself and Jak, "destroy it."

Ashelin rolled her eyes.

Pecker squawked and said, "Onin says that the Precursors and Dark Makers have fought over worlds for as long as time has turned. It would not be the first time a planet was lost to those monsters."

"Yeah," Jak said and glared. "Well it's not going to be this planet. We've lasted this long. We've just got to find a way to destroy that thing. The truth lies at the bottom of the catacombs. That's where I need to go."

They nodded silently. Jak turned to leave and Ashelin called out. He stopped and looked at her. "Keira isn't in her room," she said and he frowned.

"Well then where is she?" he asked.

Pecker squawked again and said, "She's having the baby."

"What?" he yelled and sprinted out of there, leaving Daxter behind.

Daxter pouted and rolled his eyes. "Right behind ya," he called out and Ashelin smirked.

"What a way to tell him he's gonna be a daddy real soon," Torn teased and shook his head, looking at the map in front of him.

Ashelin gave a laugh and looked at her own map. "How do you think we're going to do this?" she asked and Torn looked up at her.

"Honestly, I don't have a clue. But we have to stop Errol first of all."

"Where do you think he's going to go?"

"Well, he's not getting Eco out of that War Factory anymore; I don't think he was in the first place. The only other place that would be able to create Dark Eco like that is the Metal Heads. This means that the KGs and the Metal Heads have been working together all along."

"You make a point. What do you think Pecker?"

"I think you should let those boys do what they do best," Pecker said and took to the air. "Help them if you must, but they'll figure out what to do. This is just like Gol and Maia in a way."

Torn and Ashelin looked at each other and gulped. They knew the story. The Acheron siblings wanted to change the world to their image. It had simply been a matter of time before they were stopped and encased in the Dark Eco Silo that they had been trying to open.

"That is not good," Torn said and shook his head. "We need to take down the Metal Head nest, stop Errol from getting enough Dark Eco."

"That's a good place to start. Now it's just a matter of figuring out how to get in," Ashelin said and hummed for a moment. "Jinx!"

"What?"

"Get Jinx to get as many explosives as he can and put it into a small transporter. Have a good driver fly it through the Metal Head sector and then drive it straight into the entrance. The driver jumps off and then Jak and Daxter go in and blow up the nest!"

"Yeah, and that's probably easier said than done. Let's just hope that Jinx hasn't gone AWOL on us."

"Yeah… that might be a bit of a problem."

"Ya think?" Torn asked and shook his head. "It's a solid plan though. And even if we can't get Jinx to do it, we can always use whatever bombs we have and hope that that will be enough. We can maybe have Tess upgrade them. She's good with weapons."

"She's good with guns, not explosives."

"It's the same general concept. We can ask her if Jinx can't or won't help. Besides, I heard that this war was hurting his business."

Ashelin smiled, "So he'll be all game."

"Exactly."

* * *

Jak ran into the hospital with Daxter on his heels. "Will you slow down? She's fine if she's here!" Daxter yelled and tried to jump onto Jak, but couldn't get to him fast enough.

"Jak?" Samos asked and Jak stopped in his tracks. He looked at Samos who had a worried look on his face. "Follow me, I know where Keira is."

Jak nodded and Daxter finally was able to get onto Jak's shoulder. "Is she okay? Is the baby? Precursors if I had known I wouldn't have gone up to the War Factory."

"She's fine. As for the baby, I think you had better see."

"What's wrong?"

"You'll just have to see," Samos answered and Jak followed. Daxter gulped and started to bounce in place.

Jak felt like he was walking to the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to him.

"We're going to see Keira first," Samos said and Jak nodded, walking into a room with Samos.

Daxter jumped down as Jak bolted for the bed.

Keira reached out for him and sobbed into his chest. "They won't let me see him! I want to see my baby!" she cried out and Jak held onto her. "They aren't telling me anything!"

Jak panted. What was he supposed to do? "Don't worry. I'll straighten everything out," he whispered and sat down on the bed, holding her. "Everything is going to be fine."

"I want my baby!"

"I know."

Tess watched from her seat and Daxter went over to her. "How has she been?" he asked and jumped into her lap.

"Bad. They won't tell us anything," she answered and scratched his head. "All the doctor said when they took him away was that he was pre-mature. It doesn't make any sense."

"What? Pre-mature? Is that doctor nuts?"

"I don't know. I have to wonder if it has anything to do with Eco though," she whispered and Jak looked at her.

"Eco?" he asked and pulled away from Keira, patting his chest. He groaned and shook his head. "Have they even done any Eco Tests?"

"No," Keira snapped and crossed her arms. "I'm getting sick of them not telling me anything."

"I'll be right back. Where is this doctor?" he asked and a nurse came in then.

"I'll be right back with her. Sorry," she said and bolted.

Jak shook his head and Keira took his hand. "It's not your fault," she said, knowing what he was thinking.

"And what if it is?" he asked and shook his head. "I won't ever forgive myself."

"It isn't!" she snapped and he looked at her. "We both can channel Eco, you better than me! I'm the daughter of a Sage! Everything about our pasts together would do something strange to a child, especially since Eco does not react well with babies. You know this! Daddy, tell him!"

"She is right. You both have very different DNA, it would only be logical that your children would have a different reaction to Eco than others."

Jak sighed and looked at Abagale as she came in.

"I take it you're the father?" she asked and he nodded. "I simply don't understand what happened; he looked like any other infant in the womb in the ultrasounds."

"Have you even done an Eco Test?" he snapped and Abagale blinked.

"I don't see a reason why."

Jak opened his mouth to speak, but Samos stopped him. "We think that because Jak and Keira both have talent with Eco that that might have caused something with the baby. Keira is my daughter, I am a Sage. Jak has an amazing talent with Eco, creating some at will. That is reason enough."

Abagale looked at them and nodded. "Alright, I guess I don't have much of an option anyways. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Jak started to go after her and Keira grabbed his hand. "Don't, not now."

Jak sighed and went back to her. "Are we sticking with the names I have?" she asked and Jak gave a short laugh.

"Really? That's what you want to talk about?"

"Yes, and you didn't answer my question."

"Remind me again."

"Well, since he's not a girl," she chuckled, "I had said Phoenix Mar. Remember?"

"Right," he said and Samos looked at her.

"Phoenix Mar?" he asked and she looked at him with a pout. "Alright, alright. Not saying anything. Just thought you would have at least incorporated your mother and I."

"Well I tried. Nothing worked. The girl name was Maria Rarity."

"Meh. I would've liked a Samos JR."

Daxter looked at him. "Samos JR? I don't think so! If anything the kid should be named after me!"

Jak looked at Keira and raised an eyebrow. "See what you've started?" he teased and she gave a smile. "Do you want anything?"

"I would love to hold my baby, but seeing as how that can't happen with a tube down his throat, I'll stick with you."

Jak snorted and shook his head. "Did they even give him a chance to breath on his own?"

"No. Pisses me off. Plenty of babies are born smaller than him and they don't have tubes down their throat! I think she made a snap decision simply seeing his size."

Jak frowned and shook his head. "We just have to wait an hour or so. And just think, we can hold him all we want when that is over."

Keira smiled and nodded. "I didn't even see him," she said and bowed her head.

Jak pursed his mouth for a moment and then gasped.

"What?"

"I'm gonna go and find him. He's bound to be in the nursery," he said and stood up. "I'll be back."

"I'm coming with you," Daxter said and jumped onto the bed, climbing onto his shoulder.

"Here, take my communicator. It has a camera on it. Take a picture," Tess said and handed him a small communicator.

Jak smiled and nodded. "I'll be back."

He walked out of the room and looked both ways. "I say we go that way," Daxter point down the middle of the hall and Jak nodded.

"Good job Dax," Jak said and saw the nursery.

"I'm just that good."

Jak gave a chuckle and walked in. The nurse looked up at him and frowned. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Keira Hagai's baby," he said and looked at all the mewling babies. "She hasn't even seen him yet."

"And you are?"

"The baby's father."

"Ah. Right this way," she said and stood up, leading him down the aisle of babies and stopped in front of one. "Sad really. They don't know what's wrong with him."

"Well if they would take an Eco Test they would," Daxter said and the nurse sighed.

"It would make sense. I mean I even know who you are," she said and smiled. "He's a very pretty baby."

Jak looked down and saw a tuft of green hair on his head and his little fists were clenched angrily. "Does he even need the tube?" Jak asked and the nurse shook her head.

"No. I know it has to do with Eco, but Abagale seems almost insistent that he have the breathing tube. I'm sorry."

Jak shook his head. "Will he still be here in about ten minutes?" he asked and the nurse nodded. "Good. I'll be back."

Jak left and Daxter hung on. "What are you doing?"

"Bringing Keira, she deserves to see him."

"Ah."

Jak entered the room and smiled. "Come with me Keira," he said and looked at her.

"Where are you going to take her?" Samos asked.

"The nursery. He's there," Jak said and took hold of her hands. "Will you come?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed and swung her legs off of the bed. "You're gonna have to help me though."

Jak nodded and held onto her as she walked forward.

"Hold it!" Tess exclaimed, grabbing the ties on Keira's gown, she tied them tighter and Keira flushed. "There ya go."

Keira laughed and Jak smiled.

They walked down to the nursery and the nurse in there smiled. Jak took her to the crib and Keira panted, putting her hand on Phoenix's tummy. He seemed to relax at her touch and Jak put his on top of hers.

"My baby," she whispered and choked back a sob. She turned into Jak and cried silently.

She wiped her eyes quickly and took Phoenix's hand. He squeezed her finger and she laughed. "Oh Precursors."

The nurse walked over to them. "He's a very strong little baby. Wouldn't surprise me if he opened his eyes for you."

As if on cue he opened his eyes and showed them perfect little green orbs.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two The Plan

**Oh boy… this is… this is… *sob***

**EmbyrEye: can be pretty stupid sometimes, I feel ya there. I'm not exactly sure what is going to happen yet, but your suspicion of Abagale is answered in this chapter. **

**The Trio of Twilight: Thank you! I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to work out last names, but I'm pretty sure that Mar will just stay his last name considering that it's never really told what Jak's last name is. Not sure yet, but I'll be sure to make in obvious in the story if it comes to that.**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you liked how cute it was! I was seriously just thinking about that, because I'm not sure how many chapters in total there will be for this story. I'm thinking I'll have this done within maybe a month or so and it's kind of scary, but fun at the same time! :D**

**Chimeran Conduit: I guess that makes sense. I am trying to make it so Daxter does show some guts in this story. **

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Um, I'm not sure. I will be sure to answer whatever questions are left though before the end of the story. I understand your reasoning for disliking Errol having an advantage over Dark Jak. I never said that Dark Jak was beaten by him; he just needed to find a different way to defeat him. And honestly I don't think I even used Dark Jak in that boss fight. It was all gun power in that one. :D**

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Plan

"_But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:11-12_

* * *

Jak sat in the chair next to Keira's bed as she slept. Daxter and Tess had left hours ago and Samos was still in the room.

"How are you holding up?" Samos asked and Jak looked at him.

"As well as I can, considering the situation," Jak answered and looked back at Keira. "I don't think I'd ever be able to do what she did today."

Samos chuckled. "I don't think any man would be able to," he said and sighed. "How are things in Spargus; I know you were only there for a few days."

Jak chuckled, "Well I was able to get probably the best house in all of Spargus."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it has a great view and looks right over the ocean," Jak said and shook his head. "I got there and was taken to Damas, who then proceeded to tell me that I look just like my mother. I didn't think it was real. I almost thought it was a dream just because of how everything was going."

Samos blinked. "So he knows now?"

"Oh he knows and I'm sure the entire city knows who I am now. Not exactly something that I really wanted, but whatever right?"

"But everything is fine?"

"Yeah," Jak answered and looked at Keira. "He really wants to meet her, as do Susan and Joel."

"Your grandparents?"

"Yeah. I have a hard time believing it, but I have a family out in the middle of a desert."

Samos smiled and nodded. "Well I'm very happy for you Jak. You deserve it. What is going to happen next?"

Jak sighed and looked at the wall. "Honestly, I want this Dark Maker thing to be over. If Keira is up to it I want her and Phoenix to go to Spargus and get settled. I don't trust Haven and they would be a hundred times safer there than they ever would be here."

Samos sighed. "You're right. I would wait a couple of days, just so then she is rested and we know for sure what is going on with Phoenix, but I want them there as well. Haven is no place for a child. Not now."

Jak looked at him. "Thank you."

"Not a problem my boy," Samos said and smiled.

There was a soft knock on the door and they looked up at it. The door opened and Abagale came in.

"I have the results of the Eco Test," she said and Jak stirred Keira awake.

"What's going on?" she asked and rubbed her eyes, her hand going to her stomach but she gasped.

"Abagale as the results of the test," Jak said and Keira sat up, looking at Abagale.

"Your baby is fine. I made a snap judgment and I apologize. Considering the fact that you both have extraordinary talents in Eco, more so you Jak than Keira, it is no wonder that your son has reacted differently to Eco. However, because the Eco Test notifies those in the Council, or what was once the Council, you have maybe two days to figure out what you're going to do."

"What will the Council do?" Keira asked, grabbing Jak's hand.

"I'm sure Jak knows."

"Veger came and had me arrested for my high Eco levels. You remember?"

"Right. So we have maybe even less time to do something. Great."

"Jak," Samos said and stood up, walking over to them, "now would be a good time to tell Keira of what you want."

"Right. Keira, I talked to Damas and…"

"You talked to Damas? What happened?"

"He knows about me now. And he offered us a suite in the palace. If you're willing to, we can leave for Spargus tomorrow night."

Keira looked at him and then to Abagale. "I would leave to Spargus. Veger doesn't have any control there and he can't hurt you."

"Right," Keira said and nodded. "Tomorrow night will be best."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Veger isn't going to hurt me or Phoenix ever again. I won't let him," she said and smiled to Jak. "Besides, I want to meet this father of yours."

"Right," Jak said with a smile. "Well everyone there wants to meet you anyways, so it'll be fair."

Keira laughed. "Can Phoenix be brought in here?" she asked and Abagale nodded.

"You get to finally hold him," Jak said and smiled. Keira grinned and nodded, pressing buttons on the bed into a sitting position. Abagale and nurse came in with Phoenix in the crib.

The nurse positioned the crib near Keira's bed and then picked Phoenix up, the tube no longer feeding him air that he didn't need. Keira's arms went straight out for him and the nurse handed him into her hold.

Keira sighed and pet his face. "Oh Phoenix," she cooed and he mewled at her. Jak chuckled and watched.

"I bet Maddie and Flynn would love for Dani to get to know him," Jak said and smiled at his little family.

"Who are they?"

"Maddie and Flynn were the ones to take me in after I woke up in Spargus. Maddie had Dani soon after I got there and I kind of took care of her whenever I wasn't doing something and Maddie was busy."

"Oh then you know all about babies," Keira teased and Samos laughed.

"I don't like diapers. Especially when they decide to crap."

Keira laughed and shook her head. "Welcome to parenthood," Samos teased and Abagale and the nurse left.

Keira cooed at him and he yawned. "Well it has been a very eventful day," she reasoned and he started to fall asleep in her arms. "Do you want to hold him?"

Jak smiled and gently took Phoenix from her. He sighed and was reminded of how small Danielle had been when Maddie and Flynn had brought her home. "Does anything need to be prepared for us in Spagus?" Keira asked and Jak nodded. "How much?"

"I think that they just need to know that we're on our way. I'll be sure to get a hold of Damas that way he knows and the suite will be ready. Tomorrow we should get everything together that you and he absolutely need."

"Right," Keira said and nodded. "I don't really have much, just clothes and even then they are clothes made for Haven, not a desert. I wouldn't fit in."

Samos snorted and shook his head. "Neither of you have ever fit in. Don't worry about what anyone will think you there."

"He's right," Jak said and smiled. "My hair was definitely the one thing that I didn't need, especially after being tossed out of the transporter. Didn't take me long to just slice it all off."

"Which I think was a good change anyways," Keira said and Jak laughed. "I like it shorter; I don't feel like I have to compete with it."

"You never had to," Jak said and smiled.

"I did with Daxter. He was always curled under your hair when you weren't running around."

"True," Jak nodded and looked down at Phoenix in his arms. "He's going to be spoiled."

"How spoiled are we talking?"

"Well, if Susan has her way we may never hold him again and though Joel may not show any real emotion other than pride or anger, he will do probably anything in his power to make him happy."

"And you know this how?"

"Susan and Joel never got their fill with me. I have to call her Nana."

Samos chortled and Jak snapped a glare at him.

"It's not funny!"

"Yes it is," Keira said and ruffled his hair. He rolled his eyes and she laughed. "We'll just have to learn how to share, although I do want to hold him again."

Jak easily surrendered Phoenix to her and he stood. "I'm going to start getting things ready," he said and walked out of the room.

Keira sighed and smiled. "What do you think Daddy?"

"I think you are going to be very happy in Spargus. Has Jak told you what's all there?"

"A little bit."

"Well, I know that it is warm, sunny, there is a beach, and everyone there has a smile on their face. You wouldn't have to worry about anyone wanting to cause any harm to him ever."

Keira looked down at Phoenix's sleeping face. "I've had to worry for so long," she said and sighed. "Ever since we found out about me being pregnant. Daddy, I'm scared."

"Don't be. As soon as you are over that wall and in the Wasteland you will never have to be scared again. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, but what about that Day Star?"

"We won't have to worry about it much longer. You know that Jak will stop it."

Keira nodded and sighed. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked and Samos smiled, walking over to her.

Samos gently took Phoenix out of her arms and he opened his eyes for a moment. "He has your eyes, your mother's eyes."

Keira smiled and watched as Samos cooed at the baby. "Are you going to come to Spargus Daddy?"

"I'm not sure. I would love to, but the forest is here."

Keira nodded. Tears stung her eyes. "I'm going to miss you," she choked out and turned to him.

Samos sighed. "You are going to have too much going on for you to really miss me. And I can visit whenever I want. I'll be sure to visit every winter."

"Really?"

"Yes, I can probably stand the heat for that long."

Keira smiled and blinked away her tears.

Jak came back in with a frown. "What's going on?" Keira asked and Jak sighed.

"I have to do something for Torn and Ashelin tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"I have to infiltrate the Metal Head nest and blow it up."

"What?" Keira demanded and her jaw dropped.

"They think that this is where Errol is getting his Eco. If that is true then it's probably the only real last thing that I can do to hurt his endeavors. I will be gone all day and probably the rest of tonight if Jinx can get all of the explosives ready."

"But what about us leaving tomorrow night?" she asked.

"I will be done before then. I promise that much."

"Alright. If you have to go though, get going. The sooner this is done the better."

"Right," he said and walked up to her. "Just make sure you have everything ready and in the transporter before I get done." He gave her quick kiss before Samos had time to hit him with his staff. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Keira looked at Samos. "This is going to end badly, I can tell."

"We don't know that," Samos said and sighed. Phoenix had fallen asleep again. "Get some rest, tomorrow is going to be a big day."

* * *

Jak ran into HQ and was stopped by a group of soldiers. "What is going on? They won't tell us anything!"

"Something with the Metal Head nest. That's all I know," Jak answered and bypassed them. He went into the meeting room and saw Veger hounding down Ashelin. "Nice to see you Veger."

They all looked at him and he glared. He walked up and stuck his chin up. "So what's going on?" he asked and gave a smart smirk.

"We were able to get Jinx to give us all of his most powerful explosives. What's going to happen is Jinx and Torn are going to drive the vehicle through the Metal Head sector. You are going to cover them in a cruiser. Once there you will go up and destroy the nest. We think that Errol is getting the Dark Eco from them in order to power up the Dark Maker ship."

"Which is folly!" Veger exclaimed and Jak rolled his eyes. "Those Dark Makers have enough Eco to destroy not only us but hundreds of planets! What makes you think that they will need more?"

"Is he really asking this question?" Daxter asked, jumping onto the table, Tess following close behind. Jak covered his face with his hand to hide the laugh. "I mean, come on, Eco runs out all the time."

"Why would they ever need more if they harvest the planets and take the Eco from them?"

Jak rolled his eyes and said, "Because Eco is energy. It takes energy to move and considering that we didn't really even know that there were other planets, it would probably take lots of energy to move from planet to planet. They also have to use that energy in order to devour the planets. It's simply a matter of they need Eco to give themselves energy. It's not that hard to understand."

"And how is Errol still alive then?"

"I don't know," Jak snapped and his eyes flashed to black. "If you're going to simply get in the way then maybe I should kill you that way you can't cause any more damage."

Veger sneered and humphed as they continued talking of their plan.

"Do you understand what's going to happen?" Ashelin asked and Jak nodded.

"I realize that I may or may not get out, but that's okay. I've lived through worse. Just make sure that Keira and Phoenix are transported to Spargus if I don't come back."

Ashelin nodded. "I'll be sure to do that."

"Phoenix?" Veger asked and Jak snapped to him, his eyes flashing to black again and fangs protruded from his gums.

"You even think about going anywhere near them and I will be sure to personally make your death painful and slow, do you hear me?"

Jak didn't hear him answer as Daxter hopped onto his shoulder and walked out of the room.

"Way to scare the shit out of him," Daxter said with a laugh. "Why are Keira and Phoenix going to Spargus though?"

"Abagale said that the Eco Test notifies the Council if there is one administered. It's why I was arrested before. If Veger knows about the test then Phoenix is basically fair game. The sooner Keira and him are in Spargus the better."

"Geeze, Vegen sure needs to loosen up a bit, I mean come on, he's going to destroy a defenseless baby for crying out loud if he has his way."

"I know," Jak said and sighed. "Apparently Errol has been working though. There was an attack at Spargus yesterday after the factory explosion."

"What?"

"That's what Susan said at least. There were huge dark looking Precursor robots falling from the sky and attacking the city. Kliever was able to hold them off with the turret gun at the beach though, but he was beaten up by the end. She said that if we were to look at him we probably wouldn't recognize him because he was so beat up."

"Geeze. Errol has been busy. Wow. We gotta stop this."

"I know. Before it gets any worse. I guess Damas is sending Sig this way though, apparently Seem has the thing that I need."

"Well that's good! Whatever it is better be pretty damn important!"

"Pretty sure it is. Hopefully Sig has more information though."

"Me too, I mean, something that we need isn't very clear as to what we're supposed to do. I just hope that it's something relatively easy. First it's fighting our way back to HQ, and then we had to destroy the War Factory and almost get blown up in the process, and now we have to fight our way through the Metal Head nest and blow that up. Oi. This is getting a little ridiculous."

Jak nodded. "I'll be happy when this is all over."

"Definitely," Daxter agreed and shook his head. "I just want to cuddle with Tess."

Jak nodded and grabbed a zoomer. "This is going to be a long night," he said and Daxter nodded.

Upon reaching the Port Jak saw a small transporter land. A tall figure walked off of it and Jak smiled. He drove over and saw Sig.

"How you doing chilipepper?" he asked and Jak laughed.

"Well, we're about to go tear apart some Metal Heads, wanna join?" Daxter asked and Jak nodded.

"Of course I do!" Sig exclaimed. "That was a pointless question."

"He has a point," Jak said and smirked as Sig grabbed his own zoomer.

Daxter mimicked him in a high pitched voice and crossed his arms indignantly.


	34. Chapter Thirty Three Connections

**This is… so… I'm gonna cry again *sob* Also I will be updating Monday and Friday afternoons! I almost have all the rest of the chapters written and can post them on a schedule now!**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: I'm glad you liked it so much! I do my best, especially for Daxter. I know a lot of people think of him as super sarcastic and I try to make sure I have the right amount of sarcasm. :D**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Well… half Dark… but yeah. XD**

**The Trio of Twilight: I'm glad you liked that scene so much! **

Chapter Thirty-Three: Connections

"_I will not die but live, _

_and will proclaim what the Lord has done. _

_The Lord has chastened me severely, _

_but he has not given me over to death." Psalm 118:17-18_

* * *

Jak and Sig landed in front of the Metal Head sector, seeing Torn and Jinx standing by a large zoomer with an open back.

"So how is this going to really go down?" Daxter asked and leaned against Jak's head.

"I'm going to drive the vehicle through the Metal Head sector, right before I crash into the entrance, I'm going to jump off. All you have to do is cover me from the cruiser," he pointed to the cruiser to the side, "and make sure I don't take any damage. I don't want this blowing up before it's time."

"Ya got that right!" Jinx yelled. "All of my best bombs are in there! You better not mess it up!"

"Yeah, yeah, we got it," Daxter said, waving his paw at Jinx. "Let's get going!"

They went to their designated vehicles and Jak climbed into the turret seat on the cruiser. He looked at the controls and frowned. "Where are the triggers?" he asked and Jinx chuckled.

"Turn the cruiser on," he said and the weapons kicked to life as soon as Sig turned the cruiser on.

"Got it," Jak said and warmed up the weapons. They took off and it seemed that the Metal Heads were all asleep as they carefully and slowly went through the sector.

"Go faster," Daxter urged and Sig shook his head. "Why not?"

"If we go too fast then the Metal Heads will hear the engines and all come out of their hiding places," he explained and looked up at him. "We want the element of surprise."

"Right. Like we're going to have it when we rip through their nest."

"If you keep talking they're gonna know anyways!" Jak hissed and Daxter yelped.

"I get it!"

They were about a half mile away from the entrance and Torn shot forward, leaving Sig and Jak confused. He lowered the zoomer and sped up faster, heading straight to the base of the nest.

Movement started to come from the sides of the area and Jak gulped. He watched as Torn jumped off of the zoomer 100 yards away from the base and rolled to the ground. The zoomer continuing on and crashing into the thick fleshy wall.

The zoomer exploded and the explosives in the back ripped through the wall, roaring coming from inside. Sig landed the zoomer and grinned. "They're hurting bad now. Move and groove chili pepper!"

Jak grinned as he was tossed the mod for the Peace Maker. He cackled and attached it to his gun. "Alright, it's payback time. You ready to rock, Dax?"

Daxter jumped off of Jak's shoulder and landed on Sig's. "You mean go in that place?" he asked and Jak raised a brow. "Ah, Jak, maybe I'll stay here and… protect Sig?"

"Get off of me," Sig said and picked Daxter off of his shoulder. "You're gonna want to know what happens that way you can tell your stories! The ones you have now are getting old!"

"My stories do not get old!" Daxter snapped and Jak ran forward. Daxter hopped on and held on tight as Jak. "So how does that gun thing work?"

"I don't know, let's try it out," Jak said and charged up the gun as Metal Heads started to pour out from the walls.

A rocket whined at the top of the gun and then flew off, arching into the air and diving to the ground quickly. Jak crouched as it exploded, killing everything in the radius. "Alright, that is something we use only when things are getting too close for comfort," Daxter said and rubbed his ears. "I'm never going to hear right after this!"

Jak laughed and ran forward, shooting at Metal Heads with the blaster and butting the smaller ones with the bottom of the gun.

"Um, how are we supposed to get over there?" Daxter asked, pointing at the platform they were looking at.

"I have an idea," Jak said and concentrated on the Light Eco inside of him. The wings erupted out of his back and quickly he flapped the wings as an afterthought as he jumped forward. He flew up and then glided over to the other side of the chasm.

"I thought you were going to warn me next time you decided to fly like that!" Daxter snapped and shuddered.

"Couldn't help it," Jak reasoned and snapped the Light Eco away, going ahead and shooting at more Metal Heads that appeared in their path.

Daxter yawned at one point and Jak looked up at him.

"What? Sorry if it's way past my bed time! I'd be in bed and more than likely asleep by now!" he complained and rummaged through Jak's pack to find the communicator. "It's freaking one in the morning!"

Jak blinked and shook his head, fighting the yawn that Daxter had put upon him. Jak laughed instead and ended up yawning anyways. "Thanks Dax, it was greatly appreciated."

"Sorry," he grumbled and sat onto Jak's shoulder again, holding on as he climbed up more levels and fighting more Metal Heads. "Geeze, does this place have enough Metal Heads? I'm so sick of them!"

Jak put the gun away and changed quickly to his dark form and sliced through the Metal Heads, sprinting up paths and cutting through the forces easily. He reached the top of the platforms and shuddered out of the Dark Eco.

He shook his head and Daxter looked around. "Alright, so now what? I don't see anything here that could be a place to give Eco to the Dark Makers."

Jak looked up and saw a hole that seemed to be a different part of the nest. "Up there," he said and pointed up.

"And how exactly are we supposed to get up there?" he asked and Jak looked down at the center of the level they were on. He walked to the center and the whole platform shook. "What did you do?"

The platform rose like an elevator. Jak smirked and settled his breathing as they climbed higher.

When they stopped he looked around, spotting Errol by a huge Dark Eco mass that looked like a Warp Gate. "Errol!" Jak growled and the huge robot looked at him with a smirk.

"Ahh, my little friends have come to see me off! I'd love to stay and chat, but I have an appointment with the most powerful beings in the universe!" he grated out and the two glared at him.

"You're through, Metal Monkey! Don't make me come over there and… sic Jak on ya!" Daxter yelled and pointed accusingly at Errol.

Jak ran forward and Errol raised his robotic hand, a red glowing charge ready for Jak. "You're too late! I've already awakened the Dark Maker ship! When I come back, I will be wielding the very power of the Precursors! I'll see you boys, soon!"

Errol shoved Jak away and jumped into the Dark Eco warp gate.

Jak frowned with a growled and walked up to it, grabbing the Dark Eco crystal stabilizing the gate. He looked at it.

"Look at that. It's cool, it's amazing, it's… reacting to the dark stuff!" Daxter exclaimed. "It's gonna blow!"

Jak ran to the only exit he could see and looked around.

A hellcat cruiser came up and Sig called out, "Let's get outta here!"

Jak nodded and jumped on; Sig shot forward and flew as fast as he could from the exploding nest.

"I don't know what just happened with Errol, but Seem told me to tell you to go the Astro-Viewer," Sig said and pulled out a Time Map. "She said that the only way that the weapon in the catacombs will ever work is if the defense systems are down on that ship. I don't know what's going to happen, but you boys have to do something."

Jak looked at Daxter. "I'm not sure if anything is going to work with the Astro-Viewer. Errol is there now and I'm sure he'll know if anything is wrong," Jak explained and Sig cursed.

"Well you're gonna have to do it anyways," Sig said and headed to Haven Forest. "I'll wait at the base and then I can take you to the transporter so you can get Keira settled in Spargus with the baby."

"This is going too fast," Jak said and rubbed his forehead.

"Let's just take things one step at a time," Sig said and Daxter nodded.

"Yeah. As soon as we get done with the forest we can ask ol' log in the head what he thinks we should do. But we definitely need to get Keira and Phoenix to Spargus before we do anything else."

Jak nodded and jumped out of the cruiser as Sig landed by the base of the Precursor pillars in the forest. He jumped from pillar to pillar and as he reached the top he pulled out the Time Map. It flew over to the Astro-Viewer.

"Approach warrior," the voice said and Jak walked up to it.

Daxter hopped down and looked up at Jak as a white light erupted from the viewing piece. Jak yelled and tried to fight it. "Get out of my head!" he growled and Daxter yelped.

"Jak! Jak? I'm losing ya buddy!" Daxter yelled, waving his arms to get Jak's attention.

Jak relaxed suddenly and his hand fell from the viewing piece. "It's linking me into the Dark Maker ship systems. They're taking me to them."

"JAK? JAK!" Daxter screamed and grabbed his leg, shaking it.

"Back away little one," the voice said and Daxter flipped him off. "He will be fine; he is doing what he needs to do to stop them."

Daxter growled and sat down, crossing his arms with a huff.

"What's going on cherry?" Sig yelled and Daxter jumped up, running to the edge.

"The Astro-Viewer is linking Jak up with the Dark Maker ship's systems!" Daxter yelled down and shrugged. "I don't have a clue as to what's going on!"

Sig growled and shook his head. "Well he needs to hurry up. Things are going down back in the city!"

"What?"

"Veger knows about Phoenix. Ashelin thinks he's making a move for the baby and she wants Keira and him out of here now."

"Shit," Daxter whispered and growled. "I don't want to speak for Jak, but he's going to want them in Spargus now rather than tonight. Have Ashelin move them now!"

"You got it cherry!"

Daxter looked at Jak, who was unmoving. "Sorry big guy," he said and sighed. "But you're gonna be super pissed when you get done with whatever you're doing."

* * *

Jak snapped his gaze for a moment as he heard a chorus of small high pitched voices crying out, "Our hero!"

"What the… Dax?" he asked and Daxter jumped up.

"What? What? What'd you see?" Daxter asked, jumping up and down. "Let me look… let me look… let me look! Hello! Elevator! Bottom floor, goin' up! Come on! I hate being short!"

"It just seemed for a moment… it looked like the… Nah, it couldn't have been."

"WHAT?" Daxter yelled and Jak looked down at him.

"It looked like the Precursors were… like you."

"What?" Daxter asked and waved his paw at Jak like he was crazy. "I think you've been chilling with that Light Eco a little bit too much!"

"I think so too."

"Well did you actually do anything in there?"

"I was able to take a robot of theirs and dismantle the defense and attack systems completely. They can't do anything basically."

"That's good. You were in there for a good two hours!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Whatever you did must have been worth it."

"I think so. Alright, let's go back to the city and then I can head to Spargus with Keira and Phoenix."

"Um, why don't we get down first before we talk about that," Daxter said and climbed up Jak.

"What? Why?"

"Is he awake?" Sig called and Jak walked to the edge, waving. "Well get down here! We have something to tell you and I don't want you falling or flying away, you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jak said and hopped down each pillar, landing on the bottom pillar and wading through the waist deep water. "What do you need to tell me?"

"Ashelin had to move Keira and Phoenix to Spargus without you," Sig said and Jak froze.

"What?" he snapped and Daxter jumped off.

"Why did you do that? Now look at him!"

"What else did you expect me to do? It was to keep them safe. Veger was making a move and Ashelin didn't trust him at all. I got a transmission from Joel and Damas both saying that she and Phoenix are safe and are in the suite already. Keira was fine with leaving and she understood," Sig said and touched Jak's shoulder.

"She's safe? Phoenix is safe?"

"Yes. They are in the palace and are in the safest place they could possibly ever be."

"Right. As long as they're safe," Jak said and sighed. "Alright, what next then?"

"I would talk to Samos or Ashelin," Sig said and climbed into the cruiser. "Get in and I'll take you right to them."

"Yeah," Jak said and got in. "I'm gonna kill Veger before this is over. He's ruined so many things now."

"I know. Look, don't do anything yet. He may not seem to have any power, but if you kill him now, it'll look like you are just on a rampage."

Jak growled and nodded.

"I don't know what you guys are doing next, but take my tracking beacon with you. Has Damas given you one?"

"If he did I don't have it," Jak said and looked at Daxter who shrugged. "Thank you."

"No problem Chili Pepper, all you gotta do is just press the button and the Wastelanders will come. You never know how many or how, but they will get there eventually."

Jak nodded and looked at Daxter. "Could be handy," Daxter said and scratched behind his ear. "God I could use a good scratch."

Jak shook his head and looked down at the ground as Sig lifted the cruiser back into the air and made the way to New Haven. Jak yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"You boys need to get some sleep before you do anything," Sig said and started to lower the cruiser as they came to HQ.

"And I can get my scratching done!" Daxter exclaimed and sat up. "Tess better be ready for me!"

Sig laughed and landed the cruise in the landing pad. Jak stumbled out of the cruiser and Daxter hung on as best as he could to Jak's leg.

"Don't walk so fast."

"I'm not," Jak groaned and trudged to the room that he had stayed in with Keira. He rubbed his eyes, noting that Rex wasn't there. "I wonder if she took the dog."

He kicked off his boots and pulled off his packs, tossing his gun to the ground and peeling off his armor. He yawned again and then crashed onto the bed, pulling the pillow to his face and burying his face into the softness.

Daxter yawned and curled onto Jak's back, nuzzling his nose into his fur.

"I thought you were gonna get scratched by Tess," Jak mumbled through the pillow and Daxter groaned.

"It can wait," he groaned and soon was snoring.

Jak took a deep breath in and his mouth fell open as he fell into slumber.


	35. Chapter Thirty four Homestretch

**Guys, I hope you get the title, cause I honestly think this thing is going to be done really soon and it's making me a little bit depressed but excited at the same time! **

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you! I'm sure there are a few things that could be commented negatively, but I'll take the compliment. XD Thank you for the congratulations! It's so weird having over 100,000 words, but nice all the same.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: No… of course not! I'm not that evil! XD **

**EmbyrEye: Oh no! I hope you are feeling much better by the time you read this! Thank you! I'm also glad I have a schedule, although not even day two of updating with the schedule and I forgot. Too many things were going on. I can't say anything… It'll ruin the next chapter! **

**Miano53: Thank you for the review! Yup, I've been introducing each chapter with a different Bible verse with hopes that it influences the chapter in a way. Most verses actually coincide with something that happen in the chapter, so it's my way of keeping the theme together for each chapter. Thank you again!**

Chapter Thirty-Four: Homestretch

"_My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matter or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore." Psalm 131_

* * *

Keira sighed as she stood in the room. Her legs throbbed and she wanted to just lie in that big bed in the other room, but she couldn't. It didn't feel right without Jak.

Rex came up to her and sat down panting. He barked and she looked down at him. Phoenix was in the cradle sleeping and she figured that soon he was going to wake up and wanting to be fed.

She gulped and panted. It was so hot here and it was the middle of winter. She waved her hand to her face and was able to get a slight breeze from it, easing some of her discomfort.

There was a knock on the door and she jumped. She walked to it and opened it slowly. "Yes?" she asked and was greeted with a beaming smile from an older woman. "Who are you?"

"I'm Susan, I'm sure Jak mentioned me before."

"Oh, yeah," Keira said and smiled. "Come in."

Susan walked in and gave her a hug. "I've heard so many things about you and it's amazing to finally put a face to the name and stories."

"Same here," Keira said and Susan pulled away. "Is anyone else with you?"

"Oh Joel is, come on in Joel, she won't bite."

The door opened again and Keira saw a rather large man with a nervous look on his face. He was so tall and from the little bit that she had been with Damas, he was just as tall. She tried not to laugh at the absurdity of how Jak simply missed that gene. He was a couple inches taller than her for sure, but she knew he hated being so much shorter than everyone else.

"Hello," he said and Susan beamed.

"So where is the baby?" Susan asked and looked around.

"Um, sleeping right now," Keira answered and backed away from them. "You aren't mad?"

"Oh, well I was at first when Jak told me, but I know he will do whatever it takes to take care of you. He is our grandson after all."

"Right," Keira said and rubbed the back of her neck. "Is it always so hot here?"

"That's right," Joel said and she frowned. "Oh, what I meant is that you're simply used to Haven's temperature. Doesn't help that your clothes are probably heavy either."

"My clothes?" she asked and looked at him. "But you're wearing armor!"

"I'm used to it. I grew up here, remember?"

"Right. Sorry, this is all just a lot to take in. I was in the hospital maybe three hours ago."

"What?" Susan asked and looked at her. "You should be in bed. Go on, we'll take care of anything that you need."

"But…"

"I said bed," Susan said and led her into the room. "I know how Haven girls think; you all think that you can do whatever you want. Spargus girls think the same, but they know to respect."

"I do to give respect!" Keira said and got into the bed. Rex leaped onto the bed and spun in a circle as he got comfy. "I just want Jak here is all."

"I'm not sure when he is getting here," Joel said and stood by the door, looking around. "I remember this room though."

"What?"

"It's where Dani and Jak stayed when he was one. He loved it here, though I think he liked not having to be inside all day long."

Keira smiled and nodded. "It wouldn't surprise me. What did you call him back then? Just curious."

"Well, considering that they only had little pet names for him it was hard to call him anything. The monks here have strange rules when it comes to Mutes, almost as if they have to name them. Dani didn't like the idea and called him Mar usually, mostly because of their last name, it was easiest," Susan answered and looked at Joel.

"Mar huh? Guess I may have to give Phoenix a different middle name."

"Phoenix is his name?" Susan asked and went over to the cradle, looking down at the sleep baby. She cooed and he stirred. She picked him up and rocked him in her arms. "I haven't held a baby in so long…"

Joel looked over at her and sighed. "You don't mind do you?" he asked and Keira shook her head. He went to Susan and put a hand on her back, rubbing his thumb over her shirt. "He's beautiful."

"My daddy said he has my mother's eyes."

"Well he sure does look like Jak did as a baby," Joel said and smiled. "Do you want the things that we kept from when Dani had Jak here?"

Keira blinked and her jaw dropped. "I… Are you sure?"

"We don't really have a need for them and you need them more than we do."

"Oh please take them," Susan pleaded and bounced Phoenix in her arms. He cooed and raised a little fist, opening it to her. "He sure is active for just coming into the world."

He grumbled for a moment and then started to cry. "Oh, looks like someone needs to be fed," Susan said and rubbed his belly as she walked over to Keira. "Are you nursing or bottle feeding?"

"I planned on nursing. I haven't had much of any other option."

"Right," Joel said and cleared his throat. "I'll go and get the things then."

Susan laughed and shook her head, handing Phoenix to Keira. "You don't mind that I stay here?"

"No. Where I grew up I was so used to seeing mothers breast feeding that it was almost normal to see a woman feed her baby in public."

Susan laughed and sat down on the bed, putting a hand on Keira's knee. She watched for a minute as Keira slightly struggled with her shirt and then chuckled as Phoenix latched on. Keira yelped in surprise and then laughed.

"Goodness he is just as greedy as Jak was," Susan teased and Keira raised a brow. "He has very many qualities to Jak; it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Did you have an Eco Test done on him?"

"Yeah, it was the only way we could actually see him. My doctor thought he was pre-mature considering his size, but I know that it had something to do with Eco. I didn't get to see the results though, so I can only assume that he's going to be a great channeler."

"Don't let the monks find out, they may try to make him a Sage."

"Oh I wouldn't want that. My father would probably try and make him a Green Eco Sage and talk to plants all day long," Keira teased and shook her head. "I don't really want to ever meet these monks, they sound kind of terrifying."

"Oh they're harmless; it's their teachings that are terrifying. They try to get all children that can channel Eco to become Sages that way the children remain pure, although it doesn't really make that big of a difference. Dani was like that."

"How so?"

"She had an amazing talent for channeling Eco, so much so that the monks caught wind of her and they wanted her to become a Sage and live in their temple. Not exactly what she wanted since she wanted to be a mother more than anything."

"What is Damas like? He escorted me to this room and then left. He barely said a word to me."

"Well, he is a very fair ruler, but he has strict rules. Most kings of Spargus do and they don't change very much from king to king, but slightly. Damas was raised to rule Haven, so him ruling Spargus wasn't foreseen at all. In fact it was a surprise completely that he came to Haven, half dead. He, along with any others that were loyal to him, was found in the desert about a week after the sacking of Haven by Praxis. He lost his wife and his only son in a single night and he couldn't do a single thing about it because he didn't know it was going to happen."

"That's so sad."

"Yes, it is," Damas said and they jumped.

"Oh Damas, I didn't know you were there," Susan said and stood.

"It's fine. I shouldn't have just walked in. Do I get to see my grandson?" he asked and Keira gasped, taking Phoenix off of her breast and shushing him as he whimpered. She handed him to Damas and she saw a huge smile form on his face.

Susan covered her mouth as she snickered and then smiled. "What's his name?"

"Phoenix," Keira answered, tugging her shirt down.

Damas nodded and gasped slightly when Phoenix opened his eyes. He had never seen such perfect little green orbs before.

* * *

Jak jumped awake at the annoying sound of knocking at the door. He pushed himself up and Daxter rolled off of his back, causing a stream of curses from the ottsel.

Jak crawled off of the bed and stumbled to his feet, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he opened the door. "What?" he asked and looked at Samos.

"Do you even have your communicator on?" Samos demanded and Jak shook his head. "No wonder you haven't been getting any of my calls. Come with me to Onin's tent, we have something to discuss with you."

"Can't you tell me here?"

"No, this is important. Get ready and get there as soon as you can."

"Fine," Jak said and Samos left.

Jak shut the door and sat down on the bed. He ran his fingers through his matted hair and grumbled. He went to the small bathroom connected to the room and got in the shower, scratching his scalp for a few minutes. He was able to get almost all of the grime out of his hair and escaped from sleep in the stream of water.

He stepped out of the shower and got dressed, stepping back into his clothes and grabbing his armor from the room and putting that on.

"What's going on?" Daxter asked, rubbing his eyes from his crumpled position on the bed.

"Samos wants us to go to Onin's tent in the Slums. They have something to tell us, but it can't be said here."

"That makes perfect sense," Daxter snapped and grumbled as he climbed to his feet. He rolled his eyes and climbed onto Jak's shoulder as he pulled on his boots. "How long were we out?"

Jak looked to the clock by Keira's workbench. "Uh… it's five in the afternoon."

"What? No way! I guess it makes sense. Boy did we need that."

"You have no idea," Jak said and stood. "Alright, let's get going then."

Jak walked there, not really paying attention to how people flitted about as if the world was ending.

"What's up with them, huh?" Daxter asked and pointed at some of the people.

"What?" Jak asked and looked, they were freaking out, screaming at their kids to obey and carrying food in and out of the houses. "That's odd."

"You're telling me! They're acting like the world is ending!"

"Well it is Dax."

"No it's not! We'll stop it! We always do! Even you said so."

"I'm just so tired," Jak said and shook his head.

"Don't talk like that Jak! We could have been done saving the world when we killed Kor, but we weren't. Come on, maybe this is last homestretch and this will be it. Hopefully cause I'm sick of having burnt fur."

"Right," Jak said and nodded. "The homestretch. And then I'm sleeping for a week."

Daxter laughed and held his sides as he did so. "You sleep? You have a kid now!"

"Oh Precursors. I'm never gonna sleep again am I?"

"Not unless you sleep in a completely different part of the palace!" Daxter teased and he continued to laugh as they walked into Onin's tent.

"What's so funny?" Pecker asked, crossing his wings in an annoyed manner.

"Jak's never gonna sleep again and he just said he wants to sleep for a week!" Daxter answered and laughed again. "Oh gosh, that was good."

Jak frowned and shook his head.

"Jak, we're in serious trouble," Samos said and Daxter stopped.

"What?" Jak asked and looked at them.

"Onin says there are strange forces at work. Fate has been twisted by something more powerful than anything she has ever seen in her many years!" Pecker exclaimed, squawking and shaking his head. "Something now awake deep in the catacombs."

Daxter groaned and shook his head. "Let me guess. You blow hards want us to go down there. Correct?"

Samos nodded and said, "The best access to the catacombs is on the Metal Head side of the city."

"Sometimes," Daxter started and hung his head in defeat, "I really hate you guys."

Pecker chuckled. "Onin says, she sees your fate turning black with uncertainty. Onin says it will be very dangerous indeed. Onin says, Pecker will escort you through the catacombs and…" Pecker stopped, Jak snickered as Daxter tried hard not to burst a lung holding in his laughter. "What? What did you say?"

"You will be Onin's eyes, and Jak's wisdom. You must do this Pecker!"

Pecker groaned and grumbled out, "Okay, fine! But I am gone the moment things get sticky!" he shot into the air with a flap of his wings. "You two, get to the catacomb entrance and take care of business. I'll meet you there when the coast is clear!" Pecker left the tent and Onin gave a grave smile.

Jak looked at Samos. "Is this it?"

"We think so. Whatever has awoken in the catacombs must be our last chance at stopping that ship. Go. You will need all the time in the world and we don't have much left."

Jak cursed under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This better be the last thing I ever have to do."

Samos nodded and watched as Jak ran off.

"Do you really think that Jak will be able to pull this off, Onin?" he asked and Onin started to sign quickly, pushing the words into Samos' mind. "I know that, but he's been pushed to his limits. Sooner rather than later he's going to break, I'm amazed he hasn't before."

Onin sighed and started to sign angrily at him.

"The Precursors have done to this him. He didn't ask for this. He didn't ask for a lot of things and yet now look at him," Samos snapped and glared at her. "Jak shouldn't be the one to always save our sorry hides, especially the Precursors. Time and time again I have watched that boy do something that no man should do and yet he's doing it again."

Onin signed and Samos shook his head. "I'm done trying to argue with you. You may be an oracle, but even you didn't ask for that, it was bestowed upon you. I didn't ask to be a Sage, but fate led me to it. We are called to do somethings in life, but just because we are called to them does not mean that we are ready to do them or to ever do them. Jak has been forced to do the things he was called to, he didn't have a choice."

Samos left the tent and sighed. "I only hope that he has the will to do this one last thing."

* * *

Jak climbed up the rubble to the entrance to the Stadium area.

"This is stupid," Daxter complained, hanging on to Jak as well as he could. "We have to do all the dirty work – once more – while everyone sits back and waits and watches us do it! Come on! I want to see bird seed for brains do what we do!"

"I know," Jak said and crawled through the opening. "Think of it like this though, once we save the world – again – we can relax."

Daxter sighed and nodded. "I can deal with that. They can all suck it and do it themselves if the world decides to take a shit again."

Jak snickered and dropped to the ground on the other side. "Holy shit," he sighed and looked at all the Metal Heads. "Well, we know where their big forces were when we attacked the nest."

"I'd say," Daxter said and nodded. "The only hombres crazy enough to take on these things are the Wastelanders!"

Jak blinked and chuckled. "You're a genius!"

He pulled out the beacon that Sig gave him and pressed the button in the center. It didn't light up at all. He continued to press it in hopes that it would actually do something.

"Yeah," Daxter said and nodded. "That trinket's worth about as much as you'd get from a broke down pawn shop in South Town."

Jak shrugged. "Meh, it's the thought that counts."

"Yeah, well maybe those thoughts will help us get through all these Metal Heads without dying, yeah?" Daxter said and shook his head. "Get going Big Guy!"

Jak laughed as he ran forward, tearing through the Metal Heads.


	36. Chapter ThirtyFive Not Yet Out of Heroes

***hyperventilating* Ohmygosh! OH MY GOSH! I can't say anything else! **

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Glad you found that to be so entertaining. XD Your questions will be answered.**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: I'm glad you like the family interaction between Keira and the in-laws, there is definitely quite a bit of it in this chapter. I definitely do my best with their dialogue, especially to give it the sense that they have been best friends for freaking ever. It definitely has a much faster pace right now, which I'm trying to convey the urgency that everyone is feeling. Hours feel like minutes and sometimes minutes feel like hours, that kind of thing. I can see the last battle happening in probably a day at the most and I'm hoping to get that across. I'll try and make future chapters more descriptive.**

Chapter Thirty-Five: Not Yet Out of Heroes

"_Jesus wept." John 11:35_

* * *

Damas sat with Keira and Susan for a few more hours talking to her about what was going to be happening. Surprisingly to him Keira was okay with not being in the picture.

"You seem like the kind of girl that would want to be in the front lines," he commented and she shook her head.

"I've always been the one in the background. I've been on the front lines of a lot of criticism though being pregnant with Phoenix and I'm done with that. I'll leave the front lines to those that actually don't mind being in the spot light," she said and chuckled. "Although I'm surprised Jak is still going through with this, he hates being put on the spot."

"I've noticed that," Damas said and sighed. "It has been nice chatting with you both, but I need to get back to work."

Susan and Keira nodded and watched as he stood.

"Damas!" Joel exclaimed, running into the room. "Sorry."

"What Joel?" Damas asked and went over to him.

"Sig's beacon is going off, but it's in a zone of Haven that I didn't think he would ever go," Joel whispered and looked at Susan and Keira over Damas' shoulder. "I think Jak may have it."

Damas looked at him and nodded. "It would make sense. He doesn't have one."

Joel nodded. "We should speak of this somewhere else."

Damas nodded and followed Joel to a secluded strategy room.

"What are we going to do? We don't necessarily have clearance from anyone in Haven to just burst in and start fighting," Joel said and looked at Damas.

"I'll go," Damas said and Joel shook his head.

"Oh no you don't. You have responsibilities here. Someone else can."

"No. No one else will go and sacrifice themselves for a boy that has been here for less than a year. You are the only other one that would be foolish enough to do this and I won't let you, not when Susan still needs you and Keira and the baby needs someone here besides her."

"Then you stay. I will not get myself killed."

"Joel, how long has it been since you've actually been in battle?"

"Not long," Joel lied, it had been years, ever since before Damas had come to Spargus.

"You're lying. I will go. And you will protect the people from whatever happens. That star is dangerously close and has gotten brighter and brighter by the minute. Whatever is going to happen to this world is going to happen soon. That much is for sure."

"Damas don't do this to him. You both just found each other. What if you die?"

"I won't, I'll be sure not to."

"Just because you say that now doesn't mean that you will be able to keep that promise. Don't be making promises that you don't intend to keep."

"I made a promise to Danielle before right after Mar was born. I told her that if she didn't want to stay in Haven then I would let it fall. I broke that promise to her. Time and time again she told me that she wanted to be here and I ignored her, saying that everything was going to be fine. I didn't even have my family for more than three years and I lost it because I broke a promise," Damas said and Joel looked at him with a sad look. "I killed my family by not keeping that promise and I won't kill the one I have now by dying today."

"Damas, think rationally. Do you really think that whatever you're going to do will even help?"

"It has to. If it makes you feel better I'll take the Slam Dozer, that thing is built like a tank and it will take forever getting there, probably three hours. I'll be fine."

Damas turned away and Joel grabbed his shoulder. "What?" Damas asked and Joel shook his head.

"Just come back," Joel said and Damas nodded, leaving.

Joel hung his head and closed his eyes. He knew that Damas wasn't going to be able to keep his promise to stay alive.

He walked back to the room and was surprised to see Keira walking around, going on some kind of rant.

"…of all the things for him to do! And I had to hear it from daddy! GAH!"

"Is everything okay?" he asked and she stopped, moving and talking.

"She just got a call from her father; Jak is headed for the catacombs and in the words of her father..."

"Jak is headed to a breaking point!" Keira exclaimed and growled out. "For them to make him keep going even though they clearly can see that he can't go much further! GAH!"

"Well you can calm down, Damas is going to help."

"What?" Susan asked and stood.

"We got a transmission from Sig's calling beacon. We think that Jak has it, this simply proves it. Damas is going to help him with whatever it is that he needs help with."

Keira's jaw dropped. "Which means that they could both die!" she exclaimed and she started to pant.

"No. Those two are too hard headed to just lie down and die, you know that. They both have a hero complex that would put some to shame though."

Keira gave a twitch of a smile and tried to nod, but ended up shaking her head. "He's done this before. He… he… no. He will hit his breaking point and he won't come back."

Susan looked at Joel with a pleading look. Joel shrugged and walked over to them. "Everything is going to be okay, you just wait."

* * *

Jak rolled behind a pile of crushed building and panted as he caught his breath from dodging a blow from a Metal Head. "GAH! I'm getting sick of this!" he yelled and pulled out his gun, blowing the skull gem out of the Metal Head.

He looked around and Daxter popped his head out from the bag. "Is it over?" he asked and Jak nodded. "Good! I'm so sick of having to dodge attacks from here!"

Jak stood and put the gun away. "Where is that stupid bird anyways?" he asked and Daxter pointed to the sky.

"There he is!"

Jak ran up to the spot where Pecker landed. "Where have you been?" he demanded and Jak groaned. "I've molted three times already just waiting for you two! Onin says we must get through the palace ruins, but I think… uh oh…" Pecker shot up and flew away.

Jak spun and there were three large Dark Maker satellites, looking down at him and roaring.

"Jak, let me just say, before it's all over," Daxter started and shuddered, "riding on your shoulder, although it is kinda boney and uncomfortable, well," he sniffed, "you've been a good pal."

Jak nodded. "You too, Dax. These adventures… they've had their ups and downs, but they've been great."

The satellites roared and moved to attack as the wall behind them crashed down and huge vehicle came bearing down on them, destroying the satellites. The huge buggy skidded to a stop and Jak looked up. "Damas?"

"Someone call for an army?" Damas asked and waved for Jak to climb up.

"Why are you here?"

"Someone had to answer your distress call," Damas teased and smiled.

"You sure are a long ways from the desert."

"I definitely don't miss this place, that's for sure," Damas said with a somber look. "This looks like the palace though, what happened?"

"It crashed about a month before I was forced to leave Haven. Veger took it down in order to get to the catacombs."

"I've heard that this is the place where the salvation of our planet lies, is this true?"

"As far as I know," Jak said and Daxter crawled out of the pack, sitting on Jak's shoulder. "Let's finish this!"

"Huzaah!" Daxter cried out and they looked at him. "What? I've always wanted to say that!"

Damas laughed as Jak took over the driving controls and weapons and drove forward. It was going to be a bumpy ride.

Dark Maker satellites started to pop out of the ground and Jak had a hard time keeping up with them.

"Get on the turret Jak, I'll drive," Damas yelled over the explosions and Jak nodded. He surrendered the controls and jumped into the turret seat, cocking the guns and shooting at each satellite, tearing through them.

The ride became easier as Damas drove through the rough terrain.

Daxter pointed out things to Jak and on cue Jak would shoot until he spotted something else.

Things were going smoothly until the Dark Makers started to use bombs that they catapulted through the air and crashed dangerously close to the vehicle.

"Take them out Jak!" Damas yelled and Jak did as told, taking out as many as he could.

Damas waited for a moment before stopping completely. Jak nodded. "I think I got 'em all," he called out and Damas nodded.

"Good. We make a good team."

"Hey! I'm still here!" Daxter responded, growling under his breath.

"We three make a good team," Damas amended and Daxter nodded, pleased for the moment.

"Precursors this will make an amazing story!" Daxter yelled and fist pumped. "Can you imagine how all the girls will fawn? And the Wastelanders, oh how jealous they will be! This is the best thing that's happened all day!"

"Daxter, this is the only good thing," Jak dead-panned

"Well that nap sure was good," Daxter mused and chuckled.

Jak nodded and then snapped his attention to something in the distance. "Get out of the car," he said.

"What?" Damas asked.

"Get out," he said and saw a bomb flying their way.

But it was too late; the bomb hit the vehicle before any of them could get out.

Jak groaned as he passed out from getting thrown out and getting hit in the head, the last thing he saw was a hellcat cruiser landing near where they were just at. Jak closed his eyes to the oblivion.

* * *

Keira looked up at the sky and gulped at the sight of the Day Star so close to them. She could make out faint lines of a ship and she closed her eyes in a sigh. Susan and Joel refused to leave her although she had said that they could go.

Phoenix kept crying, although she didn't know why. Susan didn't even know why. He was fed and they tried to keep him entertained but nothing seemed to work.

"I wonder if he knows that something is wrong." Susan said and looked at the crib where Phoenix was crying from.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Keira said, turning to her. "Daddy always said that babies were much more in tune with the workings of the world than adults were. He can probably feel the Eco disturbance whereas we can't feel it because we don't know how."

Susan nodded. "You would make a good sage," she said and Keira laughed.

"I've been told that once before. When Jak and Daxter defeated Gol and Maia," she said and pressed her lips into a line. She shook her head and looked back out the window.

"Things are going to be coming to a close," Joel said and she nodded.

She sniffed and rubbed her nose, the scent of Eco everywhere in the air. Her father had to be sneezing like crazy back in Haven.

Keira went to the crib and picked Phoenix up. She shushed him and he quieted for a moment and she smiled. "It's okay, everything is going to be okay," she whispered and hummed a slow song.

"_What do we know of heroes, who fight all of our battles? Show us all of you. So we may know the truth. We ask so much of you. And yet we're never happy. What do we know of you? Are you fire? Are you fury? What do we know of you? You who have sacrificed so much. Why do you continue when you are so hurt? What do know of you? Are you fire? Are you fury? Are you always there? Answer our prayers savior._"

Susan and Joel looked at each other and sighed. They had heard that song before, right out of Danielle's mouth as she sang Jak to sleep as a baby.

Susan choked back a sob and tried not to cry and Joel held her.

"Be safe Jak," Keira whispered and huddled Phoenix closer to her, who mewled in response.

* * *

Jak groaned as he pushed himself up off of the ground. He rubbed the back of his head and blinked a few times as he looked around, trying to figure out where he was. He saw fire and gasped as the last moments came back to him.

He shot up and pressed a hand to his forehead as he stumbled forward. He grabbed the frame of the vehicle and went around, looking for Damas.

Daxter sat up from his place and saw Jak run around the vehicle. He looked under it and saw legs that definitely didn't look like they were still put together right and he saw a growing puddle of blood. "Oh no," he whispered and crawled forward.

Jak reached Damas and cried out, "Father!"

Jak fell to his knees as he crawled over to him.

"Jak," Damas gasped and Jak gulped as he lifted Damas onto his bent knees. "Not bad shooting. Today was a good day to die. I'm very proud of you."

"Don't say that, just hold on, I can get this off of you and then I can…"

"Jak," Damas said and stopped him, "there is no saving me."

Jak stopped moving and his hands fell limp at his side. He shook his head and tears stung his eyes. "No, I just got you."

"I know," Damas said and panted, his body slowly shutting down. "But you have a family in Spargus now. Don't forget that."

"But…"

"Keira is a very sweet girl and Phoenix is going to be just like you."

Jak panted as he tried not to sob. "Don't stop fighting now. I can save you!"

Damas grabbed Jak's face and pulled him close. "You need to save the world. This world needs you."

Jak shook his head and hunched over, pressing his forehead to Damas'.

"Oh, how sentimental," a voice said and Jak gasped, realizing that Damas' hand had fallen away from his face and there was someone else there. "Do you understand why everything that happened to you happened?" Jak looked over at the voice and saw Veger, looking as smug as he could be. "I took you from Damas, hoping to harness your Eco powers for my experiments. Then I lost you to the Underground. You seem upset."

Jak panted and growled, anger growing inside of him. He screamed and stood. "VEGER!" He flashed to his dark form and Veger jumped back. Jak panted and stood there.

"Thank you for opening the door to the Precursors. Don't worry, I'll be back to put you out of your misery."

Veger ran to the sub rails and jumped into one of the vehicles. Jak looked around, frozen on the spot. He roared as he threw the huge vehicle off of Damas and into the carnage that was left of this area.

Jak shuddered and the Dark Eco left his form. He closed his eyes as he concentrated on the Light Eco inside of him. He changed to that form in a flash of light and he fell to his knees, putting his hands on Damas' chest, trying to push the energy into his body.

"Come on," he gasped and clenched his eyes shut as the Eco entered Damas' body. He could hear the bones snapping back into the place.

Daxter walked up to him and watched as Damas' body was slowly resurrected.

"Jak what are you doing?" Daxter asked, watching as the Light Eco form seemed to disappear as Jak forced the Eco into Damas' body.

"I don't want these powers at all if I can't have him," Jak said and glared at his hand, seeing the glow around him fading completely.

"Jak, you need to stop. That Light Eco is keeping you alive remember!"

Jak shook his head and sobbed, his hands falling away.

Daxter watched and sat down in defeat. Things were going terribly. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

"Jak."

Daxter looked at Damas and gasped. Jak looked at Damas.

"Why?"

Jak continued to sob and shook his head. "Set off my beacon."

Jak nodded and grabbed the beacon in his pocket. "Press three times."

Jak did so and then put it in Damas' hand. "Go. And save this world."

Jak nodded and stood up. "We gotta go after him Jak," Daxter said and hopped onto his shoulder.

Jak took a deep breath and then frowned. "Wait. You're willing to go down there? Without a fuss this time?"

"Pssh yeah, well don't get used to it. It's just that nobody hurts my best friend and lives to brag about it. Let's get him!"

Jak nodded and rubbed his eyes as he sprinted to the sub rails and jumped into the vehicle.

Damas watched and took a painful breath as he waited. Someone would come. They would have to.

* * *

**Fun fact! The verse I used is the shortest verse in the Bible! :D**


	37. Chapter Thirty Six A Terrible Cargo

**You're all probably going to hate me. Just saying. Not saying anything else, but you guys better get to reading!**

**EmbyrEye: It's alright! XD I had a feeling that a lot of people would like that, I'm not sure why the thought never crossed Naughty Dog's mind, it's possible! XD Don't worry I'm definitely not going to kill Jak off, I mean I cried when I killed Keira off in one of my other stories. It was weird. **

**Miano53: You'll see :3**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you! I've kind of wanted to use that verse for a while now and that chapter was just so appropriate! :D That's odd… it's the same length as all the others… maybe it's just because everything is just going so fast. "Smile Empty Soul" will in fact be the last one, I may or may not work on other one-shots, but I'm hopefully going to be working on a different story that's all my own with my own characters, it'll be a work in progress for a while probably.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: :3 If you think I'm evil now, just wait till you get to the end of this chapter. And you're question is actually brought up in a later chapter towards the end. Just wait. **

Chapter Thirty-Six: A Terrible Cargo

"_When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the world." Revelations 6:7-8_

* * *

Ashelin jolted from her position in the chair she had fallen asleep in. "What the?" she asked, hearing a loud beeping coming from the holographic map. She stood and walked over to it, rubbing the heels of her hands into her eyes to get the sleep out of them.

"A Wastelander in Haven?" she asked and zoomed into the spot, seeing that it was the most desperate of calls. "Oh Precursors."

She called Torn into the room and Jinx and waited for a few minutes before pacing back and forth in front of the map.

"What on earth deserves to wake me from my sleep?" Jinx asked and cursed under his breath as he walked into the room.

"What is it Ashelin?" Torn asked and looked at her, a worried look on his face.

"There is someone in the Metal Head sector by the palace ruins that has set off their distress beacon."

"Jak?" Torn asked and his brows furrowed. "Shit. He shouldn't have gone alone."

"We need to answer the call, it's a Wastelander beacon and it will take too long for anyone from there to answer it."

"Right," Torn said and Jinx was suddenly wide awake.

"We'll all go, it'll be the best option since I don't trust anyone else with a Wastelander."

"Where's Sig at?" Jinx asked and Torn shrugged.

"Probably at the Naughty Ottsel," Torn answered and shook his head. "Hellcat or small transporter?"

"Small transporter," Ashelin answered and grabbed her jacket from the chair. "Let's get going. It just went off so we'll be good in time."

"Right."

* * *

Joel felt his communicator go off in his pocket and pulled it out. "What?" he asked, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"There's been a distress signal in Haven, it's a Wastelander," Flynn answered.

"What Wastelander?" Joel asked looking at Keira and Susan's sleeping forms.

"Damas'."

"Damn it!" Joel cursed and they stirred.

He left the room and gave a stream of curses. "I told him not to go and look at what he's done! He's gone and probably gotten himself killed!"

"Well he isn't dead, at least not yet. Do you want any of us to go and retrieve him?"

Joel pinched the bridge of his nose. How did Damas do it? How did he run an entire city, the Wastelanders and any issues like this one?

"No," Joel said and shook his head. "Haven is closer; a distress signal goes to Haven as well as here, just in case. It's how the beacons are programmed. And even if we did send a group we would probably be too late to save him."

"Are you sure? When was the last time that Haven ever answered a distress call?"

"When Damas was king there," Joel answered. "Let's just hope that Praxis' daughter is a little bit more sympathetic to us."

"Yes, sir," Flynn said and the line disconnected.

"Joel?" Susan asked and came out into the hall. Joel turned to her and she frowned. "What's going on?"

"There's been a distress call," he answered and she continued to frown at him. "It's Damas."

Susan's eyes widened and shut the door. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I can only hope that neither of them is seriously injured or worse. I don't want to spread out our forces too much either just in case if the shit hits the fan here. I don't have a clue as to how Damas does this."

Susan nodded and put a hand on his arm. "He was raised to do this for one and he knows how to handle a situation like this. He would do what you just did. Don't worry about that."

Joel nodded and sighed. "Are they still asleep?"

"Yes, although I'm not sure if Phoenix will stay asleep much longer, he's been making so much noise."

Joel sighed. "Whatever is going to happen needs to happen soon and just get it over with. I don't know if I can handle the stress much longer."

Susan gave a short chuckle. "Well let's just pray for now that those two boys come back and our king hasn't done anything too drastic."

Joel nodded. "What would I ever do without you?" he asked and brought her into a hug.

"Probably crash and burn," she answered teasingly. She gave him a kiss and pulled out of the hug. "Come and try to get some sleep, you'll need it if we need to get everyone involved in keeping the city safe."

* * *

Daxter screamed as they came to the last bit of the sub rails. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" he screamed and clutched Jak's shoulder like a life line. The vehicle leveled out though as they reached the end and floated forward, as if magnetized to something in the large black space.

"Daxter," Jak said and Daxter continued screaming. "Daxter!"

"What? Aren't we dead?"

"No! Look!"

Daxter looked up and lights from all over turned on, illuminating the place in an otherworldly glow. Slowly they were able to see multiple very large Precursor rings interchanging with each other, like that of an atom.

Their vehicle flew straight and went through the rings and then lowered slowly to a large floor made of Precursor metal. The lights then shot on completely, showing a huge Precursor like robot with arms that looped to the sky.

The vehicle shut off and landed on the metal floor echoing loudly in the huge room. Jak flinched and Daxter rubbed his ears. "Gah! We couldn't have just left it hovering?" he complained and Jak frowned.

"I didn't do it!"

Daxter grumbled and Jak climbed out, walking to the robot. There was an odd humming coming from his pack and he frowned. "What is that?" he asked and Daxter rummaged through the pack, pulling out the Eco crystals. They snapped together into a sphere and Daxter gasped.

"Woah," he whispered and handed it to Jak.

"Greeting great warrior," a loud, booming and echoing voice said, a Light Eco formed, elf like figure popped out of nowhere. Jak looked up at the image. "Before it is too late, you must power up the planet's defense system."

Jak looked at the sphere of Eco crystals and walked to a contraption in front of the robot, lowering the orb to it. "The Eco Sphere has begun its energy conversion. It will take some time for the weapon to full charge. You have proven your worth, warrior. In return, we grant you the gift of evolution… the honor of becoming one of us."

"Woah! Samos will be so freaking jealous!" Daxter said, hopping off. "Way to go Jak!"

A blue light appeared before Jak and he looked up at it. He was going to become a Precursor? This was a complete honor that anyone would be jealous of.

"Step aside!" Veger yelled. Jak looked at him and the light vanished. Veger cocked his Eco pistol and marched towards him. "I will be the one who evolves into a Precursor. The right is mine!"

As if on cue the Precursor said, "Be careful what you wish for…"

The light appeared over Veger and Jak's eyes widened.

Veger was levitated into the air and the light entered his body, slowly changing his body from the inside out.

He groaned and then fell on both feet. "It is done. Don't worry, Jak. It is for the greater good that I assume this role."

Jak glared at him and Daxter opened his mouth to retort.

"Even now, it may be too late," the Precursor said. "If Errol awakens the dark ship's cargo, all will be lost."

Daxter glared at the image. "Listen glow boy, we've been doing all your dirty work while you slept in the stars, so stuff it! We've run around saving the world not once, not twice, but three times while you just gave us worthless advice! I don't even want to hear you lazy asses say that the world is going to end even though we've gotten this far!"

"Inefficient!" the Precursor yelled. "I told you we needed a back up hero. We SHOULD have gone with plan B! Ow!

Jak and Daxter looked at each other. "Plan B?" they exclaimed and then back at the image.

It was flinging all over the place. "Cut it out!" a voice said and the belly of the robot opened up, revealing a control room and three ottsels running the system.

Jak's head leaned right and he frowned.

"We are unhappy with your performance. If you had been a true hero, you would have stopped Errol by now!"

"Oh… my… God…" Jak said and the ottsels in the robot looked at him, realizing that the robot's belly was open.

"Ah… yes… well… now we are even more angry… and ah… we order you to avert your eyes or we will um… Oh, bother," the short fat one said, throwing the voice distorting microphone to the ground.

Daxter's mouth dropped and his body went limp as they started to float over to them on little pedestals.

"They… they look like ME?" Daxter exclaimed, pointing at himself and then up at Jak.

"Not what you expected?" the fat one asked and they shook their heads.

"Yeah… we get that like… a LOT!" another said, he had long hair that was pushed back and piercings in his ears.

Jak's mouth dropped like Daxter's and he tried to process what was going on, but nothing was making sense.

"Don't look so upset," the leader said. "If you knew we Precursors were a bunch of fuzzy little rats, would you worship us? Could we run the universe?"

"Not possible, buddy!" the surfer like one exclaimed.

"So we fluff up the myth… a bit."

"Then we get the respect we deserve!" the third one said, his helmet covering his eyes and buck teeth overlapping his lower lip.

"You idiots!" Veger yelled and pointed his gun at them. "Get down from there and stop defiling that glorious machine!"

The two smarter ottsels looked at each other rolled their eyes. The leader pointed his staff at Veger and shot an energy blast at him, pinning him to a red force field.

"Do not let our size fool you," the leader said and shook his head. "We are the most powerful beings in the universe."

"We are?" the dumber ottsel asked and the others shushed him.

Jak blinked and shook his head. "Then why does Daxter look like…"

"Ah yes," the leader said and sighed. "All Eco contains the source of our essence, our code, so to speak. When Daxter touched the Dark Eco, he was actually blessed, when he thought he was cursed."

Daxter blinked and then smiled. "Wahooooo! I'm a Precursor! I'm a Precursor! I'm a Precursor!" he exclaimed and danced on the floor. He stopped and looked at them. "Hey! Wait a minute! They have freaking pants!"

The ottsels looked down at their clothing and shrugged.

"These creatures are the great Precursors?" Veger asked and shook his head. "And I wanted to evolve into… NO!"

Suddenly the transformation was complete and he was changed before their eyes into an ottsel. He screamed and Daxter walked over to him with a smug look.

"A little drafty… isn't it?"

Bringing the attention back to the issue at hand the leader said, "The only way to ensure that Errol will not awaken the ship's cargo is to go there yourself and stop him. We will send you there from here." He motioned to the rings, which formed a warp gate.

"But the weapon…" Jak started and the thought of getting blown up on the ship went through his mind.

"Chill out buddy!" the surfer said. "You should have mondo minutes to go there and get back here pronto! Way before…"

"Hopefully before…" the leader tried.

"Baboom!" the dummy yelled and laughed. "Oh yeah!"

Jak nodded and turned to run into the warp gate. "Come on Dax, let's move!"

Daxter climbed on and Jak ran into the gate.

The leader looked at the surfer and dummy ottsels and shook his head. "You idiots! I told you we needed a plan B!"

* * *

"There!" Ashelin cried, pointing down at the entrance to the catacombs. "Land there!"

"Got it," Jinx replied, landing the transporter where she said. "Who exactly are we finding anyways?"

"I don't know, but whoever it is must know that that distress call isn't giving unless they want Haven involved. It must be bad," she answered and tightened her jacket as she ran out of the transporter.

Looking around she could see that there was a struggle. Burn marks were everywhere and she could see what was once a large dune buggy was overturned and burning.

"What the hell happened?" she asked out loud and Torn and Jinx fell in step behind her, looking for someone, anyone really.

"What's that?" Jinx asked, pointing close to where the vehicle was.

They ran over and gasped.

"D-Damas?" Ashelin cried and fell to her knees.

"About time," he started and coughed, "you showed up. I've been waiting."

"Oh Precursors, what happened?" she asked and Torn and Jinx sprinted back to the transporter.

Damas coughed and shook his head, cringing. "A lot of stuff, but Jak did something really stupid."

"What?"

"He saved me, healed me and then went into the catacombs."

"With Green Eco?"

"No. He has Light Eco powers. I only saw a little bit of it," Damas coughed violently, blood spurting out, "but it looked like he might have used all the Eco that his powers were limited to, maybe even taking them away. He needs them for this!"

Ashelin nodded and the other two put a stretcher down, lifting Damas onto it. "Don't worry, we'll take care of everything else," she said and he frowned.

"Don't make promises that you can't keep."

"I didn't promise," she said with a smile.

* * *

Phoenix wailed and Keira shot up in bed. "Wha-?" she mumbled and climbed out of the bed, walking over to him. "What's going on with you, huh?" she asked and picked him up.

He quieted slightly, but continued to cry.

"Shush," she urged and rocked him. "It's alright."

She went to the window and looked up at the star; it seemed to be right on top of them. "Oh Precursors," she whispered and urged Phoenix to be quiet.

"It's okay, everything is gonna be fine. You won't even remember this, but that's okay."

Phoenix wailed again and Susan walked in. "Is he okay?"

"I think it's that ship. Do you know if other kids are reacting like this?"

"I'm not sure. What time is it?"

"Like four in the morning," Keira groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"I'll call Maddie, hold on."

Keira nodded and opened the window, hearing wailing that had been muted before. She panted and Phoenix cried harder.

"Shush little one," she urged and Susan came back.

She stopped at the sound of wailing from outside. "Precursors," she gasped and Keira looked at her. "I can assume that you know what Maddie said."

"Yeah," Keira said and sighed. "This is terrible."

* * *

Jak panted as he slid around a corner, grabbing the edge and pulling himself back as he saw a huge group of Dark Makers in the next hall.

"Shit," he cursed and slammed against the wall, pressing himself against the odd fleshy material of the wall.

"Now what?" Daxter asked and looked at Jak expectantly.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Daxter hissed and shook his head. "Of all times for you to not know what to do! Gah!"

"Get over it Daxter. We'll figure it out."

Jak looked around the corner and the monsters were gone. "Great, where'd they go?"

He walked out from the spot and frowned.

"Where'd they go?" Daxter yelled and Jak shrugged. "Geeze! Well get going!"

Jak nodded and ran forward, seeing a huge launch pad room. As he entered the room he skipped a step, looking at all the Dark Maker behemoths.

"If any of these nasty things ever wake up, the planet's finished!" Daxter cried and Jak nodded, sprinting to Errol.

Errol spun in a triumphant circle, laughing. "All of these Dark Makers at my command!" he exclaimed and continued to laugh. "Just think what I could do!"

"You're through Errol!" Jak yelled and Daxter jumped off, not knowing what Jak was going to do. Errol spun to them in surprise. "Even if we both die!" Jak screamed as he sprinted forward, tackling Errol.

"NO!" Errol screamed and they toppled over the edge of the floor.

He broke free from Jak's hold and flying boosters shot him up into the air. He cackled and entered the control hub on one of the Dark Maker ships. It started up quickly and fell into the atmosphere of their planet.

Daxter ran to the edge and looked down. He didn't see Jak. "Jak?" he asked and his eyes zipped from place to place. "JAK?"


	38. Chapter ThirtySeven Last of the Demo Duo

**You may hate me again. Just saying. Cliff hangers are awesome. Just saying. **

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Thank you! Don't worry, your wish has been granted.**

**EmbryEye: I… can't… say… anything! The Precursors definitely serve their purpose as a comedic relief, that's for sure. XD Well… I figured your would all be upset because of how I ended the chapter. Along with this one.**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you very much! Believe me; I'm also just as sad that this is ending. Thank you so much for enjoying everything about this story. I don't think I can say much else besides "Thank you" because you're review is just so supporting. I'm also glad that the lack of high description hasn't taken the fun out of reading this. I know that that is one thing that I should work on for future stories that I do, but I've also read lots of stories, even some published books, that have so much description that I got bored, so I think that might have been a reason as to why I don't have so much description… Hmm… And once more, thank you. Writing this wouldn't have been anywhere near as fun if no one reviewed.**

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Last of the Demolition Duo 

"_No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." Revelations 22:3-5_

* * *

"Is it ready?" the leading ottsel asked, looking at his second in command.

"It's charged!"

"Good, fire!"

"LET ME DO IT!" the third one exclaimed, pouncing onto the button and shoving the others out of the way.

He laughed as the two different Ecos formed together to make one and shoot off into the atmosphere.

The beam of Eco energy penetrated the Dark Maker ship and Errol gasped as he saw it, urging the only Dark Maker he had to go faster through the atmosphere.

Daxter jumped back away from the edge of the floor, running back to where they came, seeing a warp gate.

"Gah! Warp gate," he cried and screamed as the air flew back to the opening, destroying the ship completely. "I'm never gonna make it!"

He flew up into the air, the force carrying him back and he was grabbed. "Let's go Dax."

"Jak?" he cried and he saw Jak's grin. "Oh god I thought you were dead! You idiot!"

"I still have my Light Eco powers thank you," Jak said and sprinted down the remains of the floor. "Errol got away."

"I know. There's a warp gate!" Daxter yelled and pointed at the gate he had tried getting to on his own.

"Right," Jak said and ran to it. "Do you know where this goes?"

"Nope. But it wasn't there when we came in, so maybe the Precursors?"

"God let's hope," Jak said and jumped in.

* * *

Keira gasped as she watched the star, seeing the odd stream of light coming from the ground. The stream of light struck the star and kept going through.

She frowned and Susan and Joel joined her. They watched for a few minutes, not sure what to make of what had just happened.

Keira gasped as she came to a conclusion.

"Jak did it," she whispered and they looked at her. "Jak did it!"

She laughed and tried not to cry, but tears escaped anyways. "He did it! He actually did it!"

Susan smiled and shook her head. Joel nodded and bowed his head. "Good job, kid."

The star soon exploded and they saw another light come into the sky.

"What is that?" Keira asked and they watched in fear.

The other light turned into a comet of sorts, heading straight towards the desert.

Joel's eyes widened in fear. "Every body needs to get in the safe houses," he said and Susan nodded as he ran out of the room.

"Come on Keira, grab Phoenix and follow me," Susan said and grabbed Keira's hand. "It's going to be fine."

Keira nodded and gulped. What was going on?

* * *

"Get him to the emergency room!" Ashelin cried and a group of doctors and nurses took the stretcher to a bed and pushed the bed away.

One doctor stayed behind and looked at her. "Who is this? He is not a citizen of Haven, just by looking at his dress."

"He is Damas, King of Spargus," she answered and the man nodded. "You should have his file; he was the King of Haven."

"Right," the doctor said and went off after the others.

Ashelin sighed as she looked back at Torn and Jinx.

"Now what?" Torn asked and she shook her head.

"I don't have a clue. But we need to find what is going on."

Torn nodded. "I'll get a hold of Samos. Maybe he'll know something, Onin too, although I really don't want to talk to that slimy bird of hers."

Jinx laughed and shook his head. Suddenly the ground shook and they ran outside. A huge stream of light shot out from the wreckage from the Palace ruins and to the Day Star.

It seemed so surreal. The star exploded and then a comet came crashing down.

Ashelin blinked at it and shook her head. "Get a hold of Samos and Onin immediately!" Ashelin yelled.

* * *

Jak landed on his knees, panting and throwing up whatever had been in his stomach. He gagged and Daxter shook his body, groaning.

"What was that?" he asked and shook his head as he sat up. "I'm beginning to think that Samos is right about those things."

Jak shuddered and shook his head. "It was a Dark Eco gate," he said and blinked his eyes a few times. "I'd rather have a headache from Light Eco than go through that again."

"Yeah," Daxter said and stood up. He looked at the Day Star and gasped. "Look!"

Jak looked at the star and it exploded. He laughed and threw his head back. "We did it Dax!"

"Woohoo! We did it!" Daxter exclaimed and jumped into the air, dancing in the sand. "We did it!"

Jak nodded and panted, giving a sigh of relief. He blinked as he heard an odd whistling sound. He looked back up and saw a comet. "Errol," he growled and stood up.

"We're not done yet," Jak said and rolled his shoulders back.

Daxter groaned and frowned. "Gah! Stupid Precursors couldn't hit him!"

"I think they may have been a little bit more worried about the ship more than him. We got this."

"The last charge of the dark and light brigade?" Daxter asked and climbed onto Jak's shoulder.

"The last job the demolition duo will do," Jak answered and gave Daxter a smirk.

Daxter nodded and looked around. "So how we gonna do this?" he asked and Jak groaned.

"Kleiver's gonna kill me," he said and ran to the entrance to Spargus. He ran to the Sand Shark buggy and started it. "Hang on tight Dax."

"Where do you think you're going?"

Jak blinked and looked at the person asking him. "Joel!"

"Answer me."

"We're going to finish this," Jak answered and Joel shook his head.

"Not without help you aren't," he replied and smirked. A stream of Wastelanders came through the door and commandeered different vehicles. "What's the plan?"

"Taking that thing down. After that I don't know."

Joel nodded. He walked to the center of the garage and everyone looked at him. "You're only orders are to take that thing down! By whatever means! Some of you may die. Know though that this was to save the world."

Jak smirked and Daxter chuckled. "We won't be alone this time," he mumbled and Jak nodded. "This is kind of nice."

"Ya got that right," Jak replied and revved his engine. Joel walked back to the smaller door and all the vehicles shot forward.

As they sped through the desert dunes they finally caught a glimpse as to what they were dealing with.

"Oh Precursors," Daxter said and his eyes widened.

The Dark Maker towered all of them. The head of the machine hovered over them all, a mechanical voice laughing in amusement as they gathered to try and take it out.

"You will all die by my hand!" the Dark Maker cried and Jak glared, knowing that it was Errol behind the voice.

As if on cue the Wastelanders drove toward it, shooting at different places in the legs and the head as well.

This went on for what felt like forever as the Dark Maker made its way through the desert, heading towards Spargus. A few Wastelanders were able to make the gears in some legs to stop working, causing the machine to lock up and go slower.

Getting the idea of what to do they focused their shots on the joints in the legs, making it slow down even more and eventually having to eject the legs in order to get away.

Errol didn't make it very far. The boosters on the body of the Dark Maker were not powerful enough and made it about a mile away from the gates of Spargus.

"Noooooo!" Errol cried and the Wastelanders drove to where it landed.

Jak skidded to a stop and jumped out. He looked at the huge body and glared.

"We can totally do this!" Daxter cried and hung on tight as Jak ran up to the side and started to climb.

It never seemed to end, the climb up to the top. Creepy Dark Maker monsters came out of the side and the Wastelanders below shot at them before they could cause any harm to Jak and his climb to the top of the body.

"Uh, Jak, you better not fall," Daxter warned and looked down. "We are really high up."

Jak nodded and grabbed another hand hold, pulling himself up. "I think we're almost there," Jak grunted and grabbed up once more, pulling himself up to the top.

Errol laughed and shook his head. "I wondered if it was you," he growled and Jak glared. "No matter. I will simply have to take care of you myself."

"Like you could before," Daxter snapped and Errol glared. "You couldn't kill him even if you tried!"

Jak growled out a breath and shook his head. "Let's finish this Errol," Jak called out and the head reared back, readying to fire a shot at Jak.

The shot fired and Jak dodged it, seeing that it over shot the edge of the body and exploded into the sand below.

"You need to aim better Errol," Jak said and laughed.

Errol growled and Jak pulled out his gun. He shot at the head and Errol yelled in frustration.

"Ha! Can't take it, can ya Errol?" Daxter yelled and laughed as Jak kept shooting.

The window started to crack and Errol turned the head away, hiding from the bullets. Jak stopped shooting and saw a large Dark Eco tank on the back of the head.

"Can't hide for long Errol," Jak called and switched his gun to the Peace Maker mode, charging the gun quickly and firing at the tank.

The shot exploded one of the tanks and Errol screamed, shaking the head and facing Jak again.

"You foolish boy!" Errol yelled and growled. "You will not defeat me and I will destroy this world and that little mechanic," he chuckled, "she will be mine and you won't be able to do a single thing about it."

"You won't touch her," Jak growled and charge the Peace Maker again, shooting at the window of the head. Errol yelled and fired charges everywhere making Jak dodge frantically.

The Wastelanders watched from the ground and weren't exactly sure what to think of the battle going on above them.

"What's going on?" Joel asked, coming up to them in a large vehicle with a few others.

"The boy is up there," one answered and looked at him. "It's been going on for a while."

Joel nodded and sighed. "This is going to be a long day," Joel said and shook his head.

Jak rolled once and charged the Peace Maker again, hitting the head again. Errol turned the head away and just screamed. "Do it again Jak!" Daxter cried out and Jak charged the gun again, firing quickly in order to hit the tank.

Errol turned to them again, hitting the glass with his fist, shattering it. "I will not be beaten by a Dark Eco Freak like you!" he yelled and Jak froze.

Jak gulped and flinched at the demeaning term. "I'm not a freak," he whispered and shook his head, blinking hard a fast for a moment.

Errol laughed as Jak stood still. He charged his weapon and shot at Jak, only to not really hit him.

The Light Eco shield formed around Jak and Daxter.

"What?" Errol yelled and glared at the sight before him

Jak stood still and couldn't hear Daxter telling him to shoot.

"You FREAK!" Errol yelled and Jak flinched again.

"Jak, don't listen to him!" Daxter yelled and waved a paw in front of Jak's face. "You aren't a freak! So you can channel Eco, so what? You're normal! YOU AREN'T A FREAK!"

Jak blinked and shook his head. "I'm not a freak!" Jak yelled and the shield fell away, he let the Dark Eco over take his body and he transformed. "You're going to die Errol!"

Errol looked at him in fear and Jak put his hands together. The Dark Eco gathered angrily in his hands and Daxter watched in fear. "What are you doing Jak?" Daxter asked and gulped.

"Giving him the final blow," he growled and the power in his hands shook violently.

Errol tried to get the body to go up into the air, but it was no use.

Jak released the Dark Eco in his hands and Errol watched in fear.

The Eco enveloped the head and tank.

"You're through Errol."

The tank exploded as did the entire body.

"JAK!"

* * *

Damas glared at the doctor. "I'm going to kill you all if you don't stop touching me! I'm fine, damn it!"

"My king, please, you need to stop this," the doctor said and Damas frowned. "We are only trying to help you make a full recovery."

"I have a few broken ribs. That is no reason to keep me here. I can make my full recovery back in Spargus where I belong. No give me my damned release forms so then I can rest in peace. I want to go home and make sure that my people are safe. There is a war going on and there is no one there that knows how to run Spargus."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that – "

"Have you heard of Mar pride?"

Damas and the doctor looked at the person standing by the door.

"Samos," the doctor said.

"I've watched the most stubborn boy I know grow up with it. Didn't help that he had an annoying friend to go along with it. Give Damas his release forms and I will take him back to his home. He belongs there now more than anyone."

The doctor nodded and sighed. "I don't want to do this."

"You don't have much of a choice at the moment, not with a Sage's ok. And there are plenty of monks there to help and from my understanding the medical care there is much more fitted for broken ribs than here."

The doctor left and Damas looked at Samos. "So you're the one who raised Jak."

"More or less, I simply guided him. Do you have any idea how much of a headache it was trying to make sure I didn't mess up the time flow?" Samos asked and Damas laughed, wincing at the pain from his ribs. "There was a man in Sandover that offered to give his house to Jak and he was the one who raised him. Along with some influence from a vengeful renegade and this man I believe is why Jak is so honor bound."

Samos smiled and shook his head. "I digress though. As soon as the doctor returns I am taking you to Spargus. Onin has tapped her thoughts into my mind and I have a headache from all of her visions. All I know is that Spargus needs you and Jak will need you more than anything."

Damas nodded. "Is he okay?"

"I'm not sure. The last real thing I understood from Onin's visions was that he was in an emotional turmoil, which broke a barrier in his mind I believe. I'm not sure what is going on in Spargus, but you need to get there."

Damas nodded. "Who all is going to Spargus with us?"

"I believe Ashelin will be going, along with Onin and Pecker and Tess I believe, she's a friend of Daxter's. Someone needs to stay behind to make sure that Haven doesn't turn into another war zone though, so Torn is staying."

"That's fine I suppose. I just want to go home right now."

"I understand you," Samos said and the doctor came back with papers in hand.

* * *

Joel watched the body of the behemoth explode. His eyes widened as the flames reached high into the air. He and the Wastelanders had to look away though and cover their faces as the force caused a small sand storm.

When the sand settled Joel looked back.

"We need to find those boys," he ordered and he and the Wastelanders ran forward to the collapsed machine.

The smoke made it harder to see what had happened to the machine completely. "Jak! Daxter!" Joel cried and the others started calling out their names.

An otherworldly slow wind blew the smoke away and quieted the flames. They stopped for a moment as everything cleared up. "Jak!" Joel bellowed and saw an odd blue light from underneath some rubble. He ran to it and fell to his knees as he pulled away the rubble. "Damn it!"

A few others came over and started to help Joel pull the rubble off of the spot.

A bright light broke through and then shut off. "Jak?" Joel asked and dug faster, pulling Jak out of the rubble.

Daxter coughed and shook his head as he crawled out of the pack. "God am I glad I went in there," he groaned and shook his body as he rubbed his eyes.

He looked at Jak and gasped. "Oh no," he whispered and looked at Jak's motionless body.

"Wake up Jak," Joel urged and shook his shoulder. "You need to wake up."

"Jak?" Daxter asked and touched his face. "Come on Jak. We did it. We beat Errol. We… we saved the world… again! Wake up!"

"Jak!" Joel yelled and continued to shake him. "Get a vehicle."

A Wastelander ran to the vehicles and grabbed the one Joel came in. He drove it up to them.

"Wake up Jak!" Daxter pleaded and whimpered. "Please. You gotta wake up."


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight Celebration

**Guys, this is almost done. So close! I'm pretty sure there will be at least one epilogue, that way any loose ends are closed and all. :D**

**Miano53: This chapter answers all.**

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: :D Cliff hangers are an author's best friend!**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: :D I liked the last one too, not so much the ship one… but I do what I can. **

**EmbyrEye: :D As to the light, yes it was in fact a Light Eco shield. No… there will be an epilogue, but I have to go through it again, there's something about it that just throws me off. I'm so glad that you've enjoyed this story. Don't worry, each and every one of your reviews has been amazing to receive, even if they may have been just support, but it has been just as amazing for me as I'm sure it has been for you. **

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Celebration

"_Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." Ruth 1: 16-17_

* * *

"Alright, we're almost there," Ashelin said coming to the back of the transporter from the cockpit.

"Good, I'm sick of being in here," Damas said and shook his head. "I've always hated flying."

Tess giggled and shook her head. "I agree with you there," Sig said and shook his head. "I'd rather walk anywhere than have to fly on one of those little zoomers."

Damas nodded and Samos groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What's going on?" Damas asked, frowning.

"Something is wrong with Jak," Samos answered and shook his head. "We just need to get to Spargus."

Ashelin nodded. "We should be landing in the next five minutes," she said and Tess nodded.

Damas was the first one off of the transporter, taking a deep breath as he was greeted with the dry hot air of Spargus. "Precursors I'm never leaving again," he said and walked forward.

"King Damas!" Flynn cried, running up to him. "Come quickly."

"What is going on?" Damas asked and followed Flynn to the palace.

"It's Jak. He was able to defeat the Dark Maker that landed just outside of the city. He hurt himself though, we don't know how, but he's been passed out for the last hour and he hasn't been making any signs of waking up.

Damas looked at Flynn and then hurried to the palace, going to the infirmary that he was going to have to go anyways. He hissed in a breath as he reached the door and put a hand to his side.

"My lord?" Flynn asked.

"Just a few broken ribs," Damas said and shook his head. "Take me to Jak."

The small party followed Flynn and they gasped at the state that Jak was in. Joel looked up at them and sighed.

"You're finally here," he said and stood, walking over to Damas. "You sure brought quite the party."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Damas grumbled and shook his head. "What happened to him?"

"He somehow blew up the Dark Maker. He got caught in the blast though. A Light Eco shield was around him when we found him and soon as we got enough of the rubble off of him the shield disappeared. He hasn't moved at all."

Damas looked at Jak and closed his eyes. "Has anyone else been here?"

"No. I don't want Keira here to see the state that he's in."

Damas nodded.

"Do you have any injuries?" Joel asked and touched Damas' shoulder. "He'll be here."

"I have a few broken ribs. Nothing compared to this," Damas answered and shrugged off Joel's hand. "I'm not leaving him."

Joel sighed and nodded. "At least let a monk look at you to see how bad the damage is," Joel offered and Damas nodded.

Damas sat down and watched Jak. Whatever was going on in Jak's mind needed to be considered and he knew that Jak would need to know that he was safe as soon as he woke.

* * *

"Oh my, Mar," a soft voice said and a hand went over his face. "Are you alright?"

He opened his eyes and blinked another time at the face in front of his. "Wha?"

"You're awake," she said and smiled. "Good."

He shook his head and sat up. "What's going on?" he asked and looked at her again. "Mom?"

"That's right," she said and cupped his face. "I didn't think I'd ever hear your voice, my sweet little boy." Her blue eyes penetrated his and she smiled. "You're perfect, just the way you are."

"Mom what's… what's going on?"

Danielle looked away.

"Please answer me. I don't know what's going on."

"Jak," she said and he blinked. "You're half dead at the moment."

He frowned and his mouth opened in shock. "What?" he asked and shook his head. "No way. I'm fine, I'm talking aren't I?"

"Jak, settle down." She looked at him and took his face in her hands. "Relax; everything is going to be fine, you'll see."

"But if I'm dead then I won't ever see my son grow up," Jak pleaded and his breath hitched. "I can't be dead."

"Don't worry," Danielle urged and pet his hair back. "You're going to be fine."

"What's going to happen?"

She didn't answer him and pulled him into a hug. "You're going to be safe. You will be a hero to all around you. You will prove to this world that Eco doesn't change people. You will prove Samos wrong about Dark Eco. You will make Damas happy, proud even."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked and she pulled away.

"Because I never got to say these things to you," she answered and smiled. "You didn't understand when I was still alive, so I'm saying it now."

"Mom…"

"You will also make a wonderful father," she said and smiled brightly. "I wish I could see your baby, but I know I can't. Know though that I will always be with you."

"How?"

She touched his chest where his heart was. "I've always been with you. I always will be."

Jak watched her and she smiled, kissing his forehead. "Your body needs to heal. Physical trauma sometimes causes the conscious mind to shut down, and when that happens you are considered to be in limbo, in a coma or asleep. Your body is safe and you will return as soon as it has healed."

"Mom, what's going to happen to you?"

Her smile faded and she pulled him into a hug. "I'm going to stay here, but I will always be with you."

"Don't leave me here alone," he begged and put his arms around her.

"I won't," she whispered and rubbed his back. "Do you want me to sing?"

Jak nodded against her shoulder and buried his face into her neck.

"Alright," she said and rocked him.

"_I've been waiting all my life, just to find someone like you. Love you caught me surprise, one look and I just knew it had to be you. I've heard love stories but this one is for me. It's perfect, darlin' did you know? Right from, the start you stole my heart and you won't ever let it go._"

Jak blinked and felt her hold fade. He pulled away and she was slowly fading away.

"Wait, don't leave!"

"I have to."

"No, please don't," he pleaded and grabbed her hand. "Come with me!"

"Jak, I don't have a body to go to. I died five years ago. My body has decomposed."

"Don't leave me."

"You're going to wake up soon. I have to leave."

Jak looked at her as she continued to fade. "Don't worry," she said and put her hand to his face. "Everything is going to be fine."

She faded completely and everything around him went white. He put his hand out in front of him and he looked around.

Tears stung his eyes as he shook his head. "No," he whispered.

* * *

Jak gasped as his lungs filled with fresh air. He coughed and sat up, gagging on the air. He felt a pair of hands rest on his shoulders.

"Jak, are you okay?"

Jak looked at the person holding him up and panted. "Dad," he gasped and Damas sighed with a smile.

"Come here," Damas said and pulled Jak into a hug. "You're okay, everything's okay."

Jak panted into his chest and closed his eyes. "I saw mom," he said and Damas blinked, then smiled.

"And?" Damas asked, hoping that Jak would tell him.

"She sang to me."

"Beautiful isn't it? I fell in love with her voice you know, right after she beat me in a fight."

Jak gave a laugh and Damas pulled away.

"Are you okay?" Damas asked and held Jak at his shoulders

"Yeah. My chest hurts a little bit, but I'm fine," Jak answered and gave his father a smile. "Where's Keira at?"

"She's in your suite. I'll take you there in a moment."

Jak nodded and sighed. "I'm just glad that this is all over," Jak said and looked at his hands. "I'm sick of fighting; fighting for the world, fighting to stay alive. I've always been fighting."

Damas nodded and stood. "Well you don't have to anymore," he said and helped Jak off of the bed. "Let's get you settled into your new home, yes?"

"I'd like that."

Entering the suite Jak sighed, seeing Susan sitting on a couch holding a swaddle of blankets. She smiled at him and looked at the adjoining room. He walked in and looked through the open doors. He smiled at Keira lying on the large bed. He would let her sleep.

"How are you doing?" Susan asked and walked up to him, no longer holding the bundle of blankets. He frowned and then saw that Damas was holding Phoenix.

He smiled and nodded. "I've been better, but I'm okay," he answered and was enveloped in another hug, a slight chuckle coming out of him as he returned the embrace. "I'm ready to just relax though, that's for sure."

"You have a child now, there is no such thing as relaxing," she teased and let go of him. "By the way, he has been a complete and total handful while you were out saving the world."

"I'm sorry?" Jak tried and Susan laughed.

"It's alright. Keira explained that children are more in tune with the Eco of this world. It would make sense considering that you were taking out a ship powered by Dark Eco, right?"

"That would make a lot of sense," Jak said and nodded. "So… what now?"

"I'd say that we get those stupid rats out of my arena," Joel grumbled and shook his head. "They have a huge ship hovering there and they are just sitting there, not offering to help at all."

"They're here?" Jak asked and Joel nodded. "Why?"

"I don't know, but I think that the entire city should be invited to watch them leave. That way when we all die, the world will know that our gods are a bunch of little rodents that can talk."

Jak snorted and nodded. "It is a little foolish when you put it that way."

"Course it is. I'm sure Samos agrees with me completely on that standing as well, speaking of which, where is the rest of your little party Damas?"

"I'm assuming causing chaos in my city. How is running it by the way?"

"I do not envy you, or your heir," Joel said, making sure to look at Jak with a pointed look.

"Wait… what? Me?"

Damas took a deep breath and sighed. "I was meaning to tell you after all this happened. I was hoping you would understand my reasoning."

"Uh…"

"I'll take that as a yes for now, but we'll have to start your training almost immediately."

Jak stuttered and groaned. "Not fair," he complained and frowned.

"It's simply tradition," Damas said and smiled as he looked down at Phoenix sleeping soundly in his arms. "And you won't be the only one to eventually take over the throne, you should know that."

Jak gasped and then smiled stiffly. "You don't have to tell me that, you have to tell that to her," he said and pointed at Keira.

Damas chuckled and nodded. "Yes, well we will leave and let you get some real rest. Being in a coma doesn't count."

Jak nodded and watched as Damas went over to the crib. They all left and the door shut.

He turned to the bed and smiled. He climbed onto the bed and Keira sighed, reaching out to him. "Come here," she whispered and he put his arms around her, pulling himself to her.

"How long have you been up?"

"When I heard your voice," she answered and opened her eyes. "I wanted them gone, so I stayed like I was."

"You're evil," he teased and kissed her. She smiled into the kiss and it deepened.

She hummed and shook her head. "I've missed your kisses," she said and he kissed her again. "Don't you dare ever leave me like that again, you hear me?"

"I hear you loud and clear," he replied and smiled down at her. "We still have to get married ya know."

Keira chuckled. "I know. And now that I don't have our little bundle of joy in my stomach, I can actually pull off a wedding dress."

Jak smiled and shook his head. "And who's going to put it on for us?"

"I was thinking Tess. She has a knack for that kind of thing even though she likes guns."

Jak chuckled and smiled. "Well we have all of the future to look forward to," he said and she nodded.

"And maybe a few other little bundle of joys in our future?" she asked and Jak looked at her with a frown. "Hey, it'll be a little bit easier considering that you will be with me the entire time, there won't be any death threats and you won't be off saving the world. It'll be a LOT easier."

"Maybe, how about after Phoenix is a little bit older though?"

"I guess I can live with that. I mean, what if you are a terrible king? We're going to want someone on the throne that at least has a clue."

Jak frowned. "Give me a break, alright?"

"I know," she said and smiled, kissing him. "Let's get some sleep though."

* * *

They gathered in front of the ship made of Precursor metal. Most of the city was in the stands, confused as to what the ship was, but cheering because their world was safe once more.

Samos stood by Jak and Keira, while she held Phoenix, with his jaw dropped at the sight of the ottsels. Daxter sat on Tess's lap on a bench nearby, feeling smug about the turn of events while the others were standing anywhere there was room.

"Thank you brave people of this planet," the lead ottsel said and Samos blinked, shaking his head. "Onin, Samos and all… your strength and wisdom in these dark times give us reason to fight on."

Samos shook his head and rolled his eyes. "My life's work, it turns out, was spent searching for a bunch of rotten little furballs."

Daxter snickered and Samos glared at him. "Hey, not my fault they decided to turn me into one of them!" he snapped and then smugly smiled.

"Onin says it is a great day for the universe," Pecker said, sitting contently on the bowl on Onin's head.

"Jak," the leader said and smiled at him. "You are the greatest of heroes. You have turned the tide against the Dark Makers, and together we will win this war."

"But dude, there are like way more challenges in the future," the surfer ottsel exclaimed and nodded.

"Duh! Or… was it the past?" the dummy asked and looked at the others.

Jak frowned at them and shook his head.

"Yes! Yes! I was getting to that," the leader said and shook his head at the others.

"More adventures?" Jak asked and glared at them. "Sorry, but you're going to have to find yourself a new hero. I'm done!"

"We need heroes like you to help us protect the universe, Jak," the leader urged and looked at him pleadingly.

"Yeah? Well I'm sure there a few other planets out there. Find someone else. I have a family now and there is no way I'm going to ever leave them for some stupid adventure. I've had enough in my life for a lifetime."

"Woo!" Daxter cheered. "Way to stick it to them!"

"Would you want to come?" the ottsel tried, looking at Daxter.

"You kidding? I've been right beside him on every single adventure. I don't even want to leave. Not when I got this sweet thing!"

Tess giggled and scratched him on the stomach.

"Sides, you got enough mojo power to save the world, you're just too lazy!"

Samos looked at him and nodded. "I may have been a little harsh on them, but I know that these boys have done enough. They do not need to be doing any more."

"We owe you much, Daxter. For all you've done and your undecided change. For your bravery in the face of incredible danger, we shall grant you your deepest desire."

Daxter sat up and looked at him. "Ya know… I've wanted a lot of things in life. I could really use a snazzy pair of pants… like yours!"

The leader nodded and pointed his staff at Daxter, creating a pair of jeans that fit him perfectly.

"Wow!" Tess exclaimed, smiling at him. "Those sure are sharp! I wish I had a pair just like 'em!"

"Be careful what you wish for," the leader said, pointing his staff at Tess and changing her into an ottsel.

She gasped and looked at herself. "Uh… the hell?

Daxter laughed. "Don't worry honey, you get used to it. Oh, and you may want to shave some parts. Trust me on that."

Tess smiled and nodded. "I guess I can deal with this," she said and gave Daxter a kiss.

Daxter's tail shot straight and he jumped into the air. "Woohoo!"

Jak chuckled and shook his head.

"And Veger, since you've accepted the transformation willingly," the leader said and looked at the now ottsel-fied Veger with a smug look, "we offer the choice of coming with us. We will surely need your expertise in certain areas."

"This is going to be a long trip," Veger said and shook his head. "Yes, I will go."

Veger went over to them and climbed onto the ship.

"We thank you again for saving this world Jak," the leader said and gave him a smile. "Don't be afraid to call on us if you need any help."

"Right," Jak said and raised a brow. "I'll keep that in mind."

Keira looked up at him and he put an arm around her. Phoenix cooed and Jak smiled down at him.

The ottsels entered the ship and about five minutes later the ship lifted off into the air and shot off into space.

Jak frowned at the trail it left and shook his head. "Come on, let's actually celebrate this time," he said to Keira and she nodded.

"Right, because last time didn't go so well," she said and teased, elbowing him.

* * *

**The song that Danielle sings in Jak's subconscious is **_**It Had to be You**_** by Dara Maclean. Here's the link, just take out the spaces. http :/ www . youtube . com / watch ? v = vK - pQzFTP1M & ob = av2e**


	40. Epilogue

**JakMartheDarkWarrior: Yup! Ya learn to love 'em like they're your best friend! :T I may write another story, but it is highly unlikely. Thank you so much for sticking through this to the end!**

**Wondrous-Serendipity: Thank you! I was telling a friend how time and time again I've received reviews that praised that family unity that I've put into the story. Thank you for sticking with this!**

**EmbyrEye: :T I do enjoy the fact that he is gone. Yup, I sure hope you and everyone else likes this epilogue. Thank YOU for reading it and reviewing! **

**Miano53: I do enjoy the fact that everyone is together in this story. I have definitely taken artistic liberties, especially with Damas, but that's okay. It's fanfiction. **

**Norkix: I'm sorry! Almost all the lines that were from the game came from memory and I remember that that scene especially was giving me a terrible time. I couldn't post anything cause that scene just didn't want to work with me. **

**T w i p h a s e: Thank you very much! I do not plan on writing anything else besides this epilogue. Um… as for your story idea… why don't you write it? You seem to know more about that idea than I ever would. It seems plausible, but I wouldn't know how to even start. Sorry.**

Epilogue

"_A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. _

_By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down." Proverbs 29: 3-4_

**Ten Years Later**

"Aw, mom, come on!" Phoenix whined, stomping his feet.

Keira rolled her eyes and put a hand on her aching back. Ten years of this should have taught her that she was going to have to deal with complete and total stubbornness. "Phoenix, you have to wait for your father. He's going to be back any minute and when he is, he will take you training," she said and looked into the other room to see Maria sitting in front of the play tool box.

At least one of her kids was taking after her. She didn't know about the girl sitting in front of the TV watching the bright colors or the one growing in her stomach, but she could hope.

She looked at Phoenix with his angry green eyes and pouting lip, and smirked. She ruffled his green and blond hair with a laugh. "You look just like your father," she said and he crossed his arms.

"This is stupid."

"You have to wait, be patient," Keira said and he turned away walking to where his baby sister sat. He sat next to her and she thought he was going to change the channel and set the currents of sobs her way, but he didn't.

She gave a sigh of relief and turned back to the small gadget she had been working on. She didn't know if she could handle any more of this with four kids. Her own patience was running thin and the desert heat didn't help matters, especially right now.

She took a deep breath as the baby kicked and she pursed her lips. "Jak, stop hiding and take your son."

Jak snickered from behind the wall and shook his head. "How'd you know?" he asked and came up behind her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

"This one started kicking," she said and tightened a bolt fiercely.

"You think I would have caught on to that," he mumbled and shook his head. "Phoenix!"

Phoenix gasped and ran back into the room, jumping onto Jak. "Yes! We can go now! YES, YES, YES!"

Jak picked him up and then set him back down. "Easy killer, it's just Blue Eco."

"Blue Eco?" Keira asked and looked at him. "Really? Blue Eco?"

"It's better than… never mind," he said after seeing her glare. "Come on Phoenix, let's get out of here."

"Daddy!" Maria cried, realizing that he was there. He stopped and she ran to him. He picked her up and spun her in the air.

"Dad! Come on, you promised!" Phoenix cried and tugged on Jak's shirt.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he said and gave Maria a kiss. "Show me what you've done when I get back, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy!"

Keira watched Jak set Maria down and smiled. "Mommy, can I show you?" Maria asked and walked over to her, her blond hair was in pig tails and the gap in her front teeth made Keira smile.

"Of course sweetie," Keira said and Maria waddled back to her tool set. Keira followed and looked down at the contraption that Maria had made. "What is it?"

"A gun Mommy! Aunty Tess needs to help."

Keira blinked and gulped. She was going to have to talk to Tess about this, maybe Jak as well. She shook her head and looked at Kelly, she was silent as she watched the TV, but Keira knew that no matter how quiet she may ever be she could pitch a screaming fit that would put many to shame. Kelly had Damas' purple eyes, a recessive gene that Keira didn't think she would ever see, but Kelly had bright green hair that had a teal tint to it.

At least she had Maddie to keep her company on most days, although today seemed to be one of the few that Maddie had to miss for her own kids, which Keira didn't mind. She was almost positive that Phoenix wouldn't have been such a pain that day if Danielle had been over. Those two were always by each other's side and she had to stop herself from thinking too far ahead into the future every now and then when it came to those two.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Jak asked, looking at Phoenix who had his arms crossed and firm pout on his face.

"I've been ready Dad! All day!"

Jak shook his head and crossed his arms. "I can always go back to Green Eco," he said and Phoenix shook his head fiercely.

"No! I love Grandpa Samos, but I don't want to hear another one of his lectures on plants! Please don't make me go through that again!"

Jak gave a chuckle and shook his head. "He won't be coming back here until Christmas, don't worry about that. Tell me what you know about Blue Eco," Jak said and smirked as he watched Phoenix shrink back. "Not much huh?"

"Nothing," Phoenix stated and hung his head. "Grandpa Samos never said anything good about it."

Jak nodded and smiled. "I believe in hands on experience," Jak said and held out his hand, conjuring Blue Eco and letting it trickle off of his extended limb. "So take a little bit and we will see just how good with Eco you are."

Phoenix looked at the sparking Eco and gulped, walking up to Jak and holding out his hand. The Eco sparked excitedly and jumped into his hand, snaking its way over his body. He shook and then laughed, it went pitchy and shook.

Jak laughed and shook his head. Phoenix then sprinted and ran circles around Jak. Jak waited as the Eco started to run out and he grabbed Phoenix, tickling him.

"Are you two getting anything done?" Damas asked, walking into the small training room.

"Grandpa!" Phoenix exclaimed and struggled out of Jak's arms. Jak laughed let him go. Phoenix sprinted over to Damas and jumped into his arms.

"How are you little warrior?" Damas asked, giving Phoenix a bear hug.

"Dad's teaching me how to use Blue Eco, I was going so fast!"

Damas nodded with a smile and set Phoenix back down. "I bet your mother is just going to love you for the next day or two."

"Why wouldn't she love me now?" Phoenix asked and Damas laughed.

"Oh she does, she'll just love you even more."

Jak snickered and then laughed out loud. "Goodness, she's gonna kill me," Jak said and shook his head.

Phoenix looked at them and pouted, not getting what they were talking about. "How are they?" Damas asked and Jak nodded.

"They are fine, Keira's staying busy and the girls are doing what they do best."

"Being annoying," Phoenix grumbled and Damas laughed. Jak rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Can I go and find Dani?"

Jak sighed and nodded. "Go ahead, don't get into any trouble!"

"Yes! Thank you!" Phoenix yelled and ran out of the room.

"He's going to get into some kind of trouble, you know that," Damas said and Jak nodded.

"I know, it's the thought that counts more or less anyways now," Jak replied and shook his head. "I think he takes too much after me."

Damas snickered and sighed. "He takes too much after any son of Mar."

* * *

"Momma, can I go out and play?" Danielle asked, tugging on Maddie's top. "I see Phoenix."

"Yes, but you have to be back in time for dinner. Dad's going to be home."

"Okay!" Dani exclaimed and ran out, stepping into her boots. "Hey Phoenix!" she called out, running out to him. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for you," he said and smiled. Her red hair was everywhere in the tight spiral curls. "Come on, let's go play," he said and Dani nodded, following him to the beach.

They ran around, splashing each other in the water, and eventually decided to have a sand war, which ended up with other kids joining and wrestling matches.

* * *

**If you don't like it, deal with it. There will be no more sequels, I promise. I had lots of fun writing this though and I hope that you will in turn maybe come over to my deviantART page where I will be working on my own story. I haven't started anything yet really, but I'm hoping to create my own characters, build them from the ground up and make literally interesting characters that have flaws and try their best to be people. I'm going to try and I can only pray that it will in fact go well. **

**There may or may not be any little one-shots but I won't be promising anything. I've had a hard time writing any other fan-fiction at the moment and I want to move on. **

**I want to say thank you to EmbyrEye, Wondrous-Serendipity, The Trio of Twilight, JakMartheDarkWarrior and any others that have reviewed, favorited, story alerted this story and have added me to their favorite authors and author alerts. It means so much that all of you have done this and made this journey so much more fun! It wouldn't have been the same without all the reviews and favorites. I would literally go to my email everyday to see if there was a review and had a little jig whenever there was one. :D**

**Also, if any of you want, you can take the kids and do whatever you want with them, just let me know and I'll come and take a look! I love these little terrors and would love to see them grow up and possibly have different stories. **

**I love you all and I look forward to any other reviews that may come!**


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